Paddy's Little Pup
by teacherbev
Summary: AU When a stray dog saves Little Dudley, the Dursley adopt it and now strange things are happening at Privet Drive, and it's not Harry! What happens when Sirius and Remus raise Harry the Wizarding way? Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1: Saving Dudley Dursley

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

Summary: AU A scruffy stray dog is welcomed into the Dursley's home after saving their son Dudley's life, but strange things begin happening and for once, Harry's not to blame.

Chapter 1: Saving Dudley Dursley

It started out as a terrible day for Petunia Dursley, frantic housewife and mother of a very active and very willful three year old boy, oh and a very reluctant aunt to a dirty and undernourished two and a half year old nephew. Dudley didn't want puff toasties for breakfast, he only wanted cocoa balls and he had eaten the last of them yesterday. She wiped a stray lock of stringy black hair from her furrowed forehead and grabbed the offending bowl of soggy cold cereal from in front of her screaming son and dropped it down onto the floor in front of her nephew as he sat quietly under the table, trying not to be noticed.

"Sweetie dinkies, Mummy has to go to the store to buy more cocoa balls today. Mummy will make your favorite pancakes with chocolate chips if you just stop screaming now."

A sly look came over the screaming boy who had absolutely no tears in his eyes as he considered his mother's offer. He stopped screaming, a calculating look shining in his beady eyes, his already plump cheeks pink with the effort of his yelling. "And chocolate cake?"

"Yes, Sweetums, and chocolate cake for pudding."

Dudley nodded his round head, his blonde hair waving up and down with the movement. The skinny toddler under the table pulled the soggy bowl toward him, eagerly stuffing the unrecognizable glop into his mouth as quickly as he could before his aunt decided to throw it away rather than let him have it in addition to the piece of toast she had already allowed him. When he could get no more out of the bowl with the spoon, he tipped the oversized cereal bowl up and dribbled the last of the milk into his mouth and then his small pink tongue reached out and licked the last few flakes of cereal into his mouth.

He sat waiting quietly under the table as Dudley devoured a stack of chocolate chip laden pancakes; drowning in melted butter and hot maple syrup, which would have easily fed a hungry trucker. He knew better than to get underfoot while his aunt cooked and they had never allowed him to sit at the table; after all tables and chairs were for decent normal people and he was a 'disgusting freak' whatever that meant.

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In a quaint wizarding house that looked like it was only still standing through the liberal use of magic, another family was eating breakfast on this fine April morning. Molly Weasley handed her one and a half year old daughter to her son Charlie who at nine and a half was her oldest child at home during the school year. Bill had started Hogwarts just this year and even with six other children to keep her busy she missed her oldest child.

Sending the just four year old twins back up the stairs to wash their hands better, she started cooking a huge mound of pancakes, a large cast iron skillet of bacon already sizzling on the back of the stove. With her wand she summoned a large jug of chilled pumpkin juice and set Percy to filling the juice glasses, ignoring the lump in his pocket that she knew was his pet rat, Scabbers. Her three year old son Ronnie promptly dropped his glass on the floor. Thanking Merlin for unbreakable charms, Molly merely flicked the mess away with a well practiced flick of her wand, dumped the dirty glass into the sink where the scrub brush cleaned it and turned back to her cooking.

Arthur Weasley entered the room, finishing tying his tie and straightening his black Ministry robes as he kissed his wife on her cheek, ruffled Ron's messy red hair, and sat down at the head of the table, picking up the copy of the Daily Prophet that was waiting for him on his empty plate.

He shook the paper open and then gasped in surprise. Molly turned to look at him forgetting to turn the pancakes that were ready, so they wiggled a little to remind her and then the pan flipped, turning the pancakes all by itself. Arthur turned the paper around so that she could read the headline herself. She dropped her wand on the floor and grasped the back of the nearest chair before realizing where she was and how many little pairs of eyes were watching her. She bent down and picked up her wand, using a firm wrist movement to float the pancakes over to a large platter in the middle of the table where everyone helped themselves, the older children preparing plates for the younger ones as Molly scooped up little Ginny and plopped her into her highchair before placing a small plate with tiny pieces of pancake that Percy had cut up in front of her.

Arthur's hands shook as he read the front page, his breakfast forgotten in front of him. She nodded in agreement; too busy with the children to do more as her husband went back to reading, his head shaking in agitation as he read.

**_Mass Murderer Sirius Black Found Dead in Cell!_**

**_Ministry officials announced late yesterday that the Death Eater Sirius Black, the betrayer of his friends James and Lily Potter, the murderer of Peter Pettigrew and fourteen innocent Muggles was found dead during yesterday mornings bed check. The dementors had disposed of the body before Aurors had a chance to examine it, but it is believed that he died of natural causes._**

**_(See full story on Page 2 of Black's crimes) _**

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The skeletal form of a large, stringy haired black dog dragged itself the last few feet through the freezing ocean water before collapsing in exhaustion on the rocky stone of the beach, too cold to shiver and too tired to move another inch. A low whine escaped its muzzle as the boney chest heaved up and down, a long pale tongue lolling out one side of its mouth.

An early morning fisherman dropped his rod and bait bucket as he spotted the foam flecked mound that was still being threatened by the ever closer waves of the incoming tide. He dropped beside the almost dead dog and pulled off his old, fish stained and smelly coat and draped it around the dog, scooping the thin body up and holding it close as he talked to it. "Here now boy, just hang on for a little bit and I'll have you home with me and in front of a nice warm fire in just two shakes of your tail. Who could have done this to a fine boy like you? Looks like someone starved you before taking you out in a boat and dumping you to drown. Don't understand how anyone could do that to another living being, but at least this time you made it back to shore."

The graying man used one foot to kick open the door to his little cottage and laid his wet burden down on a rag rug that was covering the floor right in front of the hearth. He pulled off his wet coat and rummaged in a closet for an old blanket and some ratty but clean towels. He dried the poor beast off as much as he could; the dog was shivering horribly as he finally wrapped it up tightly in the old blanket. He churned up the banked coals and tossed a couple of well seasoned logs onto the fire before leaving the dog to go open a tin of canned meat for it.

The man found himself gazing into unusually intelligent looking soft grey eyes after he coaxed the poor beast into eating all of the tinned meat he had found in the pantry for it. Sitting on the floor in front of the fire, he talked to it gently as he stroked the filthy long and matted fur on the dog's head. "There boy, you're safe now. I won't hurt you. Did someone just throw you overboard? Well at least you made it to shore, not like that bag of kittens that washed up last month." With a soft string of vulgar curses he continued to stroke the dog's head as it lay trustingly on his leg and slept, finally stopping its shivering as the warmth of the fire chased away the last of the bone chilling cold from the frigid ocean water.

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Petunia managed to finally convince Dudley to get his jacket on and his shoes tied so that she could drop the freak over at old Mrs. Figg's place and get to the market so they would return home before lunch time. She sighed, she had finally been able to dash down stairs and started a load of laundry but by the time she had returned, Dudley had broken two of his cars and demolished his new box of crayons. She had let the brat out of his cupboard long enough to clean up his cousins mess but she was sure the freak had managed to sneak a couple of the broken crayons into the baggy hand me downs he wore before she could catch him.

Mrs. Figg didn't want to take the boy but Petunia had finally convinced her. "Just take him with you to the chemists. He can carry home your bag for you. I just can't manage two little boys at the grocers. Please, Mrs. Figg, I really need to get more groceries today."

Mrs. Figg looked at the tiny boy standing behind his aunt's leg, the ragged clothes hanging off one shoulder, his bones clearly visible. His head hung down and he remained perfectly still and silent the entire time the adults were talking. "Oh I suppose so, Petunia. But just this once, you really must _call_ before leaving little Harry. I do have other plans." Harry looked up at her, his large green eyes overpowering any other features on his skinny face, his unruly black hair sticking up every which way. Petunia reached behind her without even looking, grabbed one shoulder and pushed the boy forcefully toward the batty old cat woman, relieved she wouldn't have to take the boy with her, especially after the last trip when some no good busy body had complained to the store manager when she had left the brat in the car while she took Dudley inside with her.

Petunia squealed the tires as she turned out of Mrs. Figg's driveway, Dudley already yelling all of the items he wanted his mother to buy for him at the store. Arabella looked down at the small silent figure standing like a ghost on her front stoop and sighed. She reached inside the door for her purse before grabbing one small hand and walking down the path to begin the two block trip to the chemists. 'I don't know just what Albus Dumbledore was thinking, leaving a precious child with those monsters. I wonder if it will do any good to _complain_ again or will he just tell me it's for the boy's own protection once more. I swear if I wasn't a squib I'd hex that man!'

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Amelia Bones frowned at the skimpy file of parchments that lay open on her desk and sorted through them once more, searching for things she knew didn't exist. The two aurors sitting on the hard visitors chairs in front of her desk started squirming before she glared at them, freezing them to their seats once more.

"So, any explanation of why there are no trial transcripts in this folder? Or even the results of the Veritaserum interrogation? And why did the dementors dispose of the body before it could be examined? You had better have some explanations gentlemen or you might find yourselves becoming much better acquainted with the dementors on a very _personal_ level."

Quimby Smithfield and Harriet Barry both blanched, knowing the threat from their boss was very real. She had only taken the promotion a few months ago after the disgrace of Barty Crouch both senior and junior became common knowledge, but she had earned her reputation as a tough no nonsense auror, and she was rapidly earning an even tougher reputation as the new Head of Magical Law Enforcement.

Smithfield unconsciously shrugged as he tried to explain. "Mister Crouch had him sent to Azkaban and as far as I know neither an interrogation or a trial ever took place."

Barry piped up, her voice squeaking as her nervousness came through. "We didn't even know that Black had died until the noon bed check, and there was no body. You know we can't communicate with the dementors, well, not really, you know, just some indistinct flashes and such…anyway…since there was no body there we…you know…just assumed…the dementors…" her voice trailed off into nothing as Madam Bone's face started to turn bright red.

Madame Bones stood up, her hands on her hips, glaring at the two cowering aurors seated in front of her. "Let me get this straight. The Ministry threw him in Azkaban with no Veritaserum to ascertain his guilt, no trial for him to speak up, then because there is no body it is assumed that the dementors have done…what exactly do the dementors _do_ with dead prisoners?"

Smithfield blanched even whiter, "Well, they sort of drag them off and then dump them out at sea to let the fishes just…dispose…" he never finished as Madame Bones exploded once more.

"I want the case against Black re-opened and left open until either his body or Pettigrew's body are found. I want you personally to re-question every witness, using Veritaserum, and I want every scrap of evidence re-examined and re-tested until we find out the truth! Now get out of my sight and be thankful I am not bringing charges against you."

Smithfield and Barry tripped over each other in their hurry to leave Bone's office, literally running out of the department as soon as they were far enough away for her not to see them.

Amelia stuck her head out of her office long enough to tell her secretary to send for Alastor Moody.

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Bartholomew Grimes was a solitary man. He enjoyed his small cottage on the sea where he lived alone after his wife left him. He spent his days fishing, beach combing and bringing home strays of all sorts to nurse back to health. That was what he did for fun, to make a living; he cranked out detective novels, about one every eighteen months. Very successful detective novels based on his fourteen years as a Scotland Yard detective before a drunk driver hit him while he was interviewing a hooker on a busy London street corner. His leg had been shattered just enough that he was retired on full disability but not enough that it really bothered him, except when the weather changed or he got too cold.

Bart's mind was on the next chapter of his latest novel while he was trudging home that night when he came across the big dog barely alive. He had taken it home, sure that the dog would not last through the night; it was just too skinny and too cold. So he was pleasantly surprised when the steady thump, thump noise that woke him in the morning turned out to be the dog's tail limply wagging a greeting.

He cooked a couple of extra sausages that morning and chopped them up into a can of tinned tuna, talking to the dog the whole time. "Now, we'll just get some of this nice food in you and then get you cleaned up a bit and look you over. I didn't see anything that might need the vet last night, but it's hard to tell under all that fur. Another few days to fatten you up a little, then a nice bath, maybe a little hair trimming and you'll be good as new."

Sirius liked the man; his instincts were usually pretty good, with the exception of that rat Pettigrew, so he decided he would stay for a while before checking on his godson and then hunting down that traitor. It would be worth going back to Azkaban if he could just take Pettigrew with him.

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The Daily Prophet had been eagerly reporting on the scandal caused by Crouch sending Sirius Black to prison without a trial, the investigation had turned up quite a few irregularities about several of his arrests and even a few cases where people had simply disappeared altogether. All of his trials of the people who had been accused of being followers of You-Know-Who had been re-opened and a mysterious correlation between large deposits to his bank account just before wealthy arrestees were acquitted were found and new trials were opened. This time the Wizengamot insisted upon bare forearms and Veritaserum of all of the accused. Miraculously only one wizard previously acquitted remained innocent; the other nine were all found guilty and sent to Azkaban where most people thought they had belonged all along.

The investigations and trials had taken several months, but Smithfield and Barry had never found any evidence or even a witness who actually _saw_ Sirius Black throw a curse on that fateful day. The evidence storehouse was searched high and low and the two wands that had been found that day were finally found. Mr. Ollivander had testified as to which wand belonged to which wizard and to the surprise of all, it was found that Black's wand had not been used that day at all and Pettigrew's wand had last thrown the reducto that supposedly killed him and the innocent Muggles while blowing up the street.

Without any evidence against Sirius Black, and a lot of evidence supporting him, the arrest warrants for Black were canceled, but since only Madame Bones and a few others believed that he might have _escaped_ from Azkaban and not died with the dementors just deciding to dispose of his body for some unknown reason, he was soon forgotten.

As time passed, the Daily Prophet moved on to new scandals, the wizarding world turned its attention to other matters and the strange disappearance of Sirius Black was relegated to the history books.

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Petunia Dursley had progressed from ignoring her very strange little nephew, to screaming at him, and to making him do chores as well as occasionally slapping the undernourished and fearful child. He was really too small to do much but that didn't stop her from making him do chores. And since he hadn't completed them adequately that gave her the perfect reason to complain to her husband Vernon about how the boy was so defiant and rebellious. Since his wife no longer cared about what happened to the runt, Vernon felt perfectly justified in taking out his frustrations about life in general on the unnatural freak.

Harry thought his life had been bad before, and he didn't exactly know why. But now his life was even worse. He couldn't do the things his Aunt wanted him to do no matter how hard he tried and if he didn't finish them his Uncle would spank him really hard and lock him in the cupboard under the stairs with nothing to eat. No one said anything when Dudley accidentally knocked Harry down the stairs one morning, so Dudley felt free to pick on his much smaller cousin and began to take every opportunity to do so.

Each night Harry sat in his cupboard in the spider filled dark and wished for someone, _anyone_ to come and rescue him. "Mum, Daddy, why did you leave me…why didn't you take me with you to heaven…I promise if you come for me I won't eat too much and I won't talk to much and…" It became the every night prayer of a small, helpless and lonely little boy.

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Arabella Figg was ready to spit nails. She had reported to the _great and glorious_ Albus Dumbledore, Supreme Mugwump, blah, blah, blah about the appearance of persistent bruises on little Harry and been patronized with some pablum about little boys always getting bruised when they played. When she had retorted that little boys didn't have _fist sized_ bruises on the side of their faces and _hand marks_ around their little necks she had been politely brushed off and told to go tend to her cats, because little Harry was safe behind the blood wards that the _godlike_ Dumbledore had cast himself. She muttered about arse like was more like it before floo-ing home to throw something and then have a good cry.

Arabella thought long and hard about going to the Muggle authorities to report child abuse but reasoned that the all-knowing Supreme Bighead would just obliviate everyone and remove her from her home, denying any care poor little Harry might receive.

She grabbed up her string bag and set off down the street, deliberately choosing a path that would take her past the Dursley's house. She would keep a detailed record of everything and then someday she would figure out who was powerful enough to give it to.

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Sirius had stayed almost four months with Grimes, regaining his strength and putting on some much needed muscle before he decided it was high time he checked on little Harry and then began his quest to find the miserable little rat responsible for all of their troubles. He knew that Grimes had begun searching for a new home for him, after all he was healthy enough to go somewhere else now and Grimes brought home strays to nurse them to health, he didn't keep them all forever; he would be inundated with pets very quickly if he didn't.

Using all the skills Sirius had honed through seven years of being a Marauder at Hogwarts and the three years of auror training he had just completed before that fateful Halloween night, he managed to find a fish truck headed to London and shifted back to human form long enough to repack the boxes and make himself a nice hidey hole for the trip. It was rather bumpy in the back of the truck and he never wanted to smell another smelt, but it was much faster that hoofing it.

He stopped off long enough in London to make a side trip to his old house at 12 Grimmald Place, watching it from the back yard long enough to discover it was now totally deserted. His father had died during his sixth year at Hogwarts and he knew his brother had died at Voldemort's own hand so just his evil, vindictive Mother would have been there along with her sanity challenged house elf, but he could find no signs of occupancy at all. He waited until almost two in the morning before letting himself in through the small basement door he had found when he was escaping from punishments and listened intently for signs of life. He had quietly climbed the stairs before he was startled by the sudden appearance of the insane house elf, Kreature.

"It too late, Mistress is gone. You can not harms Mistress any more…Kreature must do Mistress' bidding now…" With much insane muttering, the foul smelling creature returned to the dark and depressing kitchen, leaving Sirius to shake his head and continue his climb up the very familiar but still hated stairs. He finally reached his old bedroom on the third floor and pushed open the door, feeling the familiar wash of the wards he had placed there so many years ago. 'Good, still strong enough to keep that vile…thing…out of here.' Sirius swiftly crossed the large, dusty room and opened the closet, pulling out a large wooden chest he opened it quickly, removing several small items which he stuffed into his jacket pockets.

He had felt really bad about stealing clothing from the line of laundry he had run across a couple of miles away from old Grime's cottage, but it couldn't be helped. He found a thick wallet stuffed with muggle money that he had kept for emergencies and put it in the pocket next to the leather pouch that clinked with galleons. He picked up the collar with 'Padfoot' engraved on a brass plaque that James had given him as a joke one Christmas and shrugged, what the heck, it might keep people from trying to 'claim' the stray if they thought he had an owner somewhere.

He stuffed the chest back in the closet, and went down a flight of stairs and pushed into his father's old room. His mother's was at the other end of the floor and he wouldn't enter it for all the gold in Gringotts, but his father had at least tried to be decent to him when he was younger. He pulled open the desk drawer, pulling it all the way out and putting it to one side. He leaned over to get his arm in the opening far enough to reach clear back and pull out a slender wooden case.

He smiled to himself, thanking his father for being such a paranoid wizard for once. His father had commissioned duplicate wands for everyone in the family, unwilling to risk anyone of his blood being without a willing wand. Sirius ran a finger down the length of his father's two wands, nostalgic for a single moment before firmly grasping his own duplicate wand. Sirius had never known how his father had managed to find exact duplicates of both wand cores and blanks but he had and his last living son was very thankful the very wealthy wizard had the foresight to do it.

After slipping his new wand into a secure pocket and buttoning the flap tight over it, Sirius took a quick look all through the house, before stopping in the kitchen long enough to drag old Kreature out into the middle of the room and telling him he had just one choice, either the barely sane elf could vacate the house completely and go to one of his cousins houses or Sirius would give the elf clothes and he would be forced out that way. Kreature sobbed with great gasping shudders before giving Sirius a disgusted look and leaving the Noble House of Black with a loud 'pop', never to set foot in the house again.

Sirius set new blocking and preservation spells over the old mansion with his new wand, thrilling at the feel of once again using magic, and pleased at the fit between his magic and the wand. His father had come through again. Smiling sadly at the memory of learning the spell to help his best friend and his family, he cast a perfect fidelius charm with himself as the secret keeper. Too bad he had cast it for the Potters but had talked them into using that _rat_ Pettigrew as the secret keeper, thinking he would be a good decoy to keep them safe. He wiped a tear from his eye at the memory and the sudden pain in his heart at the rat's betrayal, he turned and set off in dog form once again collar clinking softly as he ran, determined to check on Harry and then avenge his dead ghosts.

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Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk and pondered the problem of Arabella Figg and what he was going to do with the old squib. He had placed her in Harry Potter's neighborhood to placate his decidedly unhappy Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall after leaving the fifteen month old orphan with his muggle relatives. To say that Minerva was unhappy with the arrangements he had made would be a huge understatement. She had complained to everyone who would listen about what she had observed the day she had sat watching as a cat before Hagrid had delivered the sleeping child and he had left him on the Dursley's doorstep with just a single letter of explanation for Petunia. So he had arranged for the squib to move in and start up a relationship with Petunia, even encouraging her to volunteer to baby-sit for the woman occasionally.

Dumbledore was a very powerful and well loved wizard, and he intended to stay a powerful and well respected wizard for as long as he lived. He only half believed the prophecy that Sybil Trelawney had given before Harry was born, but he knew that many others, especially Tom Riddle himself believed it so he made his plans accordingly.

Oh, he could have let Harry be adopted by a wizarding family, Merlin knows enough of them had shown up within hours of Harry being made an orphan, but then the boy would grow up spoiled, and much too independent and sure of himself. He would surely not turn to his ancient Headmaster for guidance and mentoring and Dumbledore could not allow that to happen.

He was sorry the boy was apparently being mistreated, but as long as he didn't investigate Arabella's claims he could honestly vow, even under Veritaserum that he didn't _know_ the child was being abused. Not that he would ever allow things to progress to that point. It would be a disaster for _everyone_ if he lost his control over the wizarding world to such an extent.

So as he sucked on one of his lemon drops, he made plans to keep the boy with the muggles, even if it meant he had to obliviate Arabella and remove her. Hopefully without Minerva finding out.

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From London, Sirius found a furniture delivery van going to Whinging on a bright spring morning. The ride was just as bumpy as the fish truck, but it sure smelled a lot better. He managed to jump out of the truck while the two movers were busy taking a large sofa into the house and slunk around the house to hide in some bushes until the men left with the van.

He waited until after dark to read the maps posted at the nearest bus stop. It wouldn't do to be seen as a map reading dog, but he really needed to find Lily's sister's house. He knew that she and Lily had never gotten along and that James and Lily's will stated that Harry was never to be placed in their care but he hoped his godson's aunt would at least know where the boy had been placed. He had helped James make a long list of possible adoptive parents just before the trio went into hiding, but he had no way of knowing exactly _which _family was caring for Harry now.

'Ah, if I go north about four miles on this street, I can turn left at the park, go three blocks east and that's Privet Drive. I remember the address was on Privet Drive. I should be able to pick up Petunia's scent; it will be close enough to Lily's after all. And I have scented her before when I spent that weekend at their parent's house with James.'

The sleek, black dog took off at a ground eating lope, intent upon finding his godson.

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It had been another horrible morning for Petunia. Dudley was getting bigger all the time and at three and a half soon to be four, he was almost too big for her to pick up any more. It wouldn't be much longer before she would be unable to physically stop his temper tantrums and she didn't know what she was going to do then. His favorite shirt was dirty, his pants were too tight _again_, he didn't like his breakfast and worst of all, that little pervert had stolen the banana he wanted even if it was too ripe and covered with black.

Petunia rubbed her head, hoping she could avoid another migraine as Dudley jumped up and down, dust drifting down from the ceiling as the pictures lining the mantle fell over again. She grabbed the brat from under the cupboard, shoving him towards the door as she soothed her screaming and stomping son. "Let me just drop off the brat at the old lady's, Dudleykins and then you and Mummy will go to the park and have an ice cream, okay honey?"

Without waiting for her hand Dudley took off running, intent upon going to the park and making his mother buy him the biggest cone the ice cream cart man sold. Petunia had stopped just long enough to grab a thin jacket for her precious boy when she heard it.

A heart rending screech of brakes, the squeal of metal hitting metal and then Dudley screaming in pain and agony rent the peaceful air of the quiet neighborhood. Petunia started screaming, a high pitched ear splitting noise as she dropped the jacket and ran out the front door, expecting to find her precious Dudley bleeding and pinned beneath a car. Instead she found a car on the sidewalk, its front end curved around the light post, and her Dudley, her precious baby boy being dragged backward by the seat of his pants. A huge black dog had saved her boy; a wonderful, sweet, very large black dog had saved her boy!

With barely a glance at her nephew as he sat obediently on the front stoop waiting patiently for her to come out, she rushed across the yard and scooped up her son, patting the dog on it's furry head as the driver of the car tried to explain about how he had lost control when a tire blew and he hoped the boy and his dog were okay.

Mrs. Number six was telling everyone who would listen about how the courageous dog had just flown across her yard, through the hedge and grabbed Dudley from the jaws of death.

By the time the police came and took everyone's statement and arranged for a tow truck for the smashed auto, a newspaper reporter from the local paper had called the London news and a camera crew for the BBC news had shown up to report on the heartwarming story of how the beloved pet had saved the poor child from certain death. After making sure that his wife and son were perfectly all right, Vernon insisted upon going to the nearest pet store and buying everything necessary for the wonderful dog, including the largest bag of the best dog food they had. He even stopped at the local butcher shop where he bought the largest, meatiest steak he could find as a reward for the dog's heroism.

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That night Sirius Black went to sleep on the rug in Dudley's bedroom, his stomach bloated with steak and sporting a brand city license tag on the leather collar that James had given him so many years before. As soon as the night sounds of the three Dursley's settled down, he crept down to a small, locked door under the stairs and using a hair pin filched from Petunia's dressing table he picked the lock and carefully opened the door. Inside he found his godson, curled up and cold, whispering pleas to his dead mother and father to come and take him away. His heart breaking, he flicked his wand, coving the shivering boy with a thick blanket before he turned back into a dog and snuggled up next to the boy, licking the tears off of his face as he coaxed him into sleep. Pettigrew and revenge could wait, Harry needed him now and that's were he would stay.

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AN: Should I continue or just leave this as a one shot? Please let me know if there is any interest in my continuing this. Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2: Dudley's Dog?

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

Summary: AU: A scruffy stray dog is welcomed into the Dursley's home after saving their son Dudley's life, but strange things begin happening and for once, Harry's not to blame.

AN: Thank you so much for the overwhelming response to the first chapter. It was wonderful, 120 reviews in just over a day! Please see my author page for an update on the other stories I have. Thank you again for the support, I really appreciate it.

AN: To clarify some issues brought up in reviews. Sirius has no contact with the wizarding world so has no idea the arrest warrant for him has been canceled or that there is any doubt about his guilt. He just got rid of Kreacher because he has always hated him and cast the fidelius just to keep his greedy cousins from robbing the place with Kreacher's help. Dumbledore may be manipulative and rather cold, but he isn't totally evil and he doesn't know Harry at all, he is just a name to him so he is more callous as a result.

Chapter 2: Dudley's Dog?

The next few days after Padfoot the dog rescued Dudley were very hectic. Dudley soon shortened the name on the dog's collar to Paddy, mostly because the short but very round boy couldn't say the word 'Padfoot' and his parents both cringed to hear him call it "Paft" it really did sound rude, especially as Dudley insisted upon yelling the bizarre name at the top of his lungs and often with his mouth full of food.

When Rosamund Morgan and her photographer Hadassah Baillie from the London Times showed up the morning after the miraculous rescue, Petunia primped and posed, her adorable, well to her at least, son perched on her boney legs, his fat thighs spilling over her lap to either side; she explained how little Dudley had been mere inches away from a horrible death when a poor stray dog had appeared almost as if he had been sent from _heaven_ by her son's _Guardian Angel_ to save him. She was sure that her Dudley was destined for great things in his life and droned on about how wonderful and precious the child was. Petunia droned on and on about her 'wonderful' child, giving Rosamund a massive headache with her simpering and gratingly whiney voice droning on interminably. She finally shut her notebook with a decided sigh of relief; Hadassah took several pictures of the huge blonde boy hugging the neck of the surprisingly docile but huge black dog and the two escaped, their relief at being able to leave the Dursley household obvious to everyone but the imbecilic boy and his overly doting but not too bright mother.

Two bright green eyes had watched through the slats of the cupboard under the stairs, stifling giggles at the long suffering glares the dog kept shooting his way and the pained and annoyed expressions on the two strangers that his obviously oblivious aunt and cousin never noticed.

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Arabella Figg was torn. She had witnessed the huge dog racing across the neighbor's yard to pull Dudley back from the wildly careening car and had been thankful the child had been saved from death or at least tremendous injury. But there was something just too… _intelligent_ about that dog. She sighed and chewed on the end of her bic, searching her memory for exactly what she had found disturbing about the supposedly stray dog. Coming to a decision, she decided to wait for now but keep her eyes open for any 'funny' business.

She wrote the date and filled in her impressions about little Harry and how he had reacted to the incident yesterday before pulling out the old wheezy Hoover and beginning her daily battle against cat hair once more.

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Dumbledore smiled as he read the Daily Prophet, the latest headlines were bland and boring, and the unpleasant furor over the investigation into Crouch and the very uncomfortable questions it had raised over Sirius Black had faded back into the realm of things that might never be solved.

He smiled, his eyes twinkling as he glanced over at his Deputy Headmistress, her attention focused entirely upon several of her Gryffindor students who were sporting looks way too innocent to be anything but contrived. As the issue of Sirius Black faded, the memory of little Harry Potter and his placement also faded and Albus' plans remained safe. He was certain that Arabella greatly exaggerated how Petunia treated her nephew; after all she had seemed to dote on her own son the one brief time he had observed her. He was certain that she would treat her nephew almost as well. And if the boy suffered a little adversity and was made to do a few simple chores, well, it would keep him from being spoiled and strengthen his character.

Albus munched a piece of toast slathered liberally with marmalade and let his mind wander, yes, the child would look upon him as a savior and be very grateful for his guidance and nurturing. He would just have to make sure that nothing happened to bring the attention of the fickle public upon Harry Potter again.

Luckily, the bored employees at both the Ministry for Magic and the Daily Prophet whose jobs consisted of reading and watching the Muggle news for items of importance to the wizarding word never recognized the name 'Dursley', and the name of Petunia Dursley's nephew was never mentioned nor was his picture ever published or seen in any of the repeated and replayed news. So no one except one very disillusioned squib knew of any of the happenings at Number 4 Privet Drive and she certainly wasn't going to tell anyone.

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Percy Weasley took out his scruffy pet rat, Scabbers and held him in one small hand while he carefully stroked him with the other. He had been worried several months ago when the rat seemed to be off his feed and had actually lost enough weight that its hair had thinned and it had looked downright ill. Percy smiled happily, his rat now looked plump and healthy once more. He put Scabbers back into his pocket and pulled over his book to begin reading once again.

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Petunia was exasperated. That dog again. The very first morning the huge black dog had nudged and prodded her nephew until he had climbed out from under the table and actually took a seat at the table, _her table_. What right did a dog, albeit a dog she was very happy to have seen yesterday, have to insist that the freak be allowed to sit at the table like decent folk?

She was sure she had heard a low growl coming from the beast when she had placed a generous plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of Dudley and a second one at her place but only a piece of unbuttered toast and an overripe banana in front of her nephew. The low growling didn't stop until she had given the boy the small serving of eggs and the two slices of bacon that she had held back for the seconds that she knew Dudley would demand. She had kept a wary eye upon the hound after that, but everything appeared to be all right.

She had been surprised when the dog had lain down in front of the boy's cupboard when she had tried to lock the boy in after he had taken out the trash, the one chore that he was actually quite good at. She had pushed and prodded the beast but he was just too heavy for her to move, so she had given up and just thrown an old blanket down on the floor of Dudley's toy room for the freak to have his morning nap on and had given up.

She noticed that the dog had moved when she came back up from the basement with a load of clean clothes for Dudley but she was pleased to find it sleeping on the rug at the foot of her son's bed so she had forgotten the strange behavior by the time Vernon got home that night.

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By Friday, Dudley was totally fuming. He knew that the dog was _his_, after all it had saved 'his' life not the puny runts. It was supposed to be his, just like everything else in the house was his. But when he had tried to throw a tantrum just two days after 'the incident with the car', that miserable cur had _interfered_. Before he had even managed to draw in the huge breath he always started his screams with, Paddy had pushed him down to the kitchen floor, with its large paws on his chest, knocking the air out of him and before he could even try to shove off the heavy weight sitting on him, he found his face being licked, wetly and disgustingly over and over again. His mother had clasped her hands together, ran for the ever present camera and actually cooed over how sweet it was that Paddy loved her little Diddykins so much.

By the time Dudley had managed to roll his fat body out from under the huge dog, his mother had disappeared down the stairs to the basement laundry and would no longer be able to even hear him. And what was the use of wasting energy on a tantrum if he had no audience and thus no hope of getting his own way. He huffed, his fists clenched as he turned to punch that snickering runt in the face to relieve his frustration only to find Paddy right in front of his face, teeth bared and a low growling noise coming from deep within his chest.

Dudley was manipulative, not too intelligent, and extremely spoiled; but he wasn't totally stupid and a large snarling dog just inches from the end of his nose struck fear into his very soul. He backed away slowly, only turning his back when he reached the safety of the stairs. He ran up the stairs and slammed his door shut, heart pounding, thoughts churning as his panic ebbed, and he considered just how he had lost control and what the dog's sudden championing of his runty cousin meant for him.

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Dudley met his father at the door that night, intent upon making him get rid of the large menace that had very effectively stopped every tantrum attempt he had made that day, and had then stopped him from taking out his frustration at his lack of success in manipulating his mother on the pipsqueak with the merest baring of his huge and very pointy teeth. But his father just brushed aside his expressions of fear with a rumple of his blonde hair and a pat of his meaty hand on his son's back. "He's just bigger than you are for now, but you're a _fine strapping lad_ and soon you'll grow much bigger than he is. He wouldn't hurt you, son after all he just saved your life you know. And the neighbors would talk, mustn't let the newspaper and television people find out you are afraid of such a fine dog, no, no, wouldn't be good for the image. Don't you agree, Petunia love?"

He had turned his attention to his lovely wife who appeared much less frazzled than normal. And could it be, was there no sign of her usual migraine dimming her beautiful eyes with pain? Vernon started smiling, yes things were looking up, perhaps tonight they could… he let his imagination wander. It had been much too long.

Petunia smiled broadly at her husband as she heard the last of his speech to their son. "No, no our _brave little boy_ would never be afraid of his guardian angel." She dismissed Dudley's rolling eyes and expression of horrified disgust as she reached out a boney hand and pulled Vernon's head toward her for a hello kiss. For some reason, today had been remarkably pleasant and she had not a twinge of her normal splitting headache. She whispered so that only her husband could hear, "Let's put Dudley to bed early tonight, love." With identical besotted smiles they turned and headed to the kitchen for the wonderful meal that Petunia had prepared.

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On Sunday the colorful, full page picture of Dudley Dursley and his wonderful dog 'Paddy' made the cover of the Sunday Magazine in the London Times. Vernon was so proud he went out and bought every copy the local market had, and then he and Petunia spent a wonderful afternoon calling everyone they could think off to boast about their precious Dudley and how he had made the cover of the prestigious magazine.

Petunia carefully clipped out the articles and their accompanying pictures and sent them off to everyone they knew the next morning. She also sent the paper a request for a copy of the negative so that she could order reprints for their Christmas cards.

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After lunch that Sunday, Vernon took the new leash he had bought and clipped it to Paddy's collar, calling Dudley to come with Daddy to walk the dog to the park. Dudley came down the stairs, dragging his feet until Vernon promised to buy the boy an ice cream. When Paddy grabbed the freaks sleeve in his mouth and literally dragged the child out the door with them, Vernon had merely shrugged his shoulders in resignation and allowed the boy to follow along.

Every few feet, the trio had to stop while neighbors came over to pet the wonderful dog and complement Vernon on his fine boys, of course Dudley got the lion's share of the attention, but Harry received a fair share of attention and praise too. And Vernon lapped up all of the praise of what a _wonderful_ job he was doing at raising two such fine boys, his own child a shining example for his poor orphaned cousin. Vernon puffed his chest out even further as he soaked up the many extravagant compliments on how wonderful and charitable he and his lovely wife were to do such a fine job with their poor nephew, why it must be so hard with him being just six months younger than their own boy.

By the time they had reached the park, Vernon was so pleased at the high praise that he had bought the child a lemon ice when the ice cream vendor pointedly looked at the boy after handing Dudley a double chocolate dipped cone. Vernon smiled to himself; the stupid vendor had believed his muttered explanation about an allergy to milk products too.

Dudley was so angry at having to share his father, the spotlight and even the love of his dog with his miserable puny cousin that he almost threw down his ice cream cone in disgust and fury, _almost_.

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Vernon enjoyed the repeat performance during their walk to the park on Monday afternoon after he got home from work almost more than he had on Sunday. He might just have to make this a nightly outing, the proud father, his strapping boy with his dog walking to the park, his magnanimous charity visible for everyone to comment on with every sight of his little pitiful nephew following behind. Vernon pushed Harry into the cupboard under the stairs after their walk home from the park, before he went in to find Petunia and Dudley waiting for him in the kitchen to eat. Noticing Paddy over in the corner, quietly eating a rather large bowl of dog food, he sat down and opened his napkin over his large lap.

"Anything exciting happen today, dear?" Vernon asked as she leaned over him to speak softly.

"Well, Paddy growled at me when I didn't…feed…the …boy…this morning." Petunia glanced hesitantly over to the corner where the big dog was still eating. "He seemed, I don't know, upset…maybe…" she finished hesitantly.

"Well, we can't have our Dudley's hero upset now can we, my love. Just make sure the brat has a little … something…I'm sure that's all it will take." Vernon was still extremely thankful for the beast that saved his son's life after all as well as full of the high praise he had received from everyone on their nightly walk. If that was all it took to make the animal happy, well it wasn't too much was it, surely not for saving Dudley's life, and making his family the center of adoring praise and recognition.

Petunia nodded at her husband, he always knew what was best in situations like this. As Paddy continued to eat, she unlocked the cupboard and led her nephew to the table, putting a small plate in front of him as he looked around in wonder.

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That night when Sirius opened the cupboard door, two bright eyes glowed in the reflected light that came in through the large picture window. A wondering expression lit up the boy's face as he watched the tall, dark haired man scoot into the little cupboard and pull a long stick out of his pocket. Harry didn't say a word, not wanting to lose his wonderful fantasy if he was dreaming.

Sirius smiled down at the boy and leaned over to kiss the small head before whispering an incantation and making the cupboard increase in size, a second wave made the small cot transfigure and grow into a large, very soft bed more than big enough for the two of them to cuddle together. Harry snuggled down under the thick and warm duvet. He screwed up his courage and asked, "Are you an angel? Are you my Daddy come back to take care of me?"

Blinking his suddenly wet eyes to keep the tears from escaping, Sirius hugged the tiny child tight to his chest, clearly feeling the rapid heartbeat through the thin chest. He smiled, his lopsided grin making the child smile back at him. "No child, I was a very good friend of his though. But you already know me."

"No I don't, I'd remember you."

Sirius took a second to change into Padfoot, licked the small boy's face with his long pink tongue and changed back.

"Woo, how…you…you're…"

Sirius barked a soft laugh, "Yes, Harry I'm Padfoot. But for now, no one can know except _you_. Don't mention a word to anyone or they would make me go away."

The little eyes grew wide with understanding and hope. "I promise, I won't tell anyone. But how?"

"Let me tell you a story, child. Once upon a time, there was an evil wizard…" Sirius began.

It took him several nights since Harry had a tendency to fall asleep in the middle of the story, but Paddy managed to finally complete the story of how Harry had lost his parents and that magic was not only real but that Paddy was a wizard and so was Harry.

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Things changed gradually and almost without the Dursleys even noticing. One morning several weeks later, Petunia had automatically fixed a couple slices of French toast for her nephew when she made almost half a loaf for Dudley. Harry had come in and sat down on his chair without the hesitation he had exhibited every other morning, and his Aunt had placed his plate in front of him without comment. She had even forgotten and filled his glass with orange juice instead of water.

Petunia shook her head, surely that hadn't been a look of pleased satisfaction on the dog's face before it had turned to eat its own breakfast. She must be seeing things.

Petunia had gradually stopped yelling at the boy since it seemed to upset the big dog and he could look really scary when he opened his mouth just right and all of his gleaming white teeth showed. She just told herself that she really didn't feel like yelling at the boy, she wasn't afraid of their own dog, was she?

The next week Petunia quickly completed the morning chores, noticing that Harry silently helped her, never once complaining. She actually smiled at him when he opened the basement door for her to carry the laundry down without being asked to.

She had to pry Dudley from in front of the television to go with her to walk the dog, but Harry was standing next to the front door, leash already snapped to Paddy's collar as he waited for her to bring a squalling Dudley outside. The boy took the big dog around the path in the park, carefully stopping to let it do its business while Petunia pushed Dudley on the swings, his little legs too fat to manage to swing himself.

She actually snapped at Dudley when he tried to throw a temper tantrum when it came time to go home for lunch. Paddy had simply walked up to Dudley, grabbed his sleeve in his jaws and pulled the boy along. Petunia had sighed with relief as she felt the familiar tension in the back of her eyes start to melt. It seemed she wouldn't have one of her blinding migraines this afternoon after all.

She gave Paddy several slices of ham as she made both boys sandwiches, it had been a long walk; she wasn't rewarding the dog for stopping one of Dudley's tantrums, was she?

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Every night, Paddy went to sleep on the rag rug at the foot of Dudley's bed, waiting for the rhythmic breathing to let him know the three Dursley's were all asleep. He would transform noiselessly into Sirius, cast a mild sleeping charm on the three upstairs and go down the stairs to unlock Harry's cupboard, walk through the notice me not charms and the muggle repelling charms he had cast and settle down beside Harry to tell the boy wonderful stories about the long and wonderful history of the wizarding world and all about the wonderful days he and Harry's father had spent at a magical school named Hogwarts.

When his beloved boy would go to sleep, he would curl up around him, keeping him safe until morning when he would transform back into Paddy and creep up the stairs to once more curl up on the rag rug in Dudley's bedroom, his sleeping charm worn off long ago.

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Dudley's tantrums came a lot less often after Petunia decided to just leave the screaming child to Paddy. And without his mother as a captive audience, Dudley soon realized that all his screaming did was get him pushed down to the ground with a very large, very heavy dog sitting on his chest, licking his face very, very wetly. And nothing else. The fewer the tantrums, the more pleasant the Dursley household became for everyone who lived there, Harry included.

And Vernon had only tried to spank Harry once after Paddy came to live with them. Apparently the big dog's protective instincts kicked in for _any _child, not just Dudley. And Vernon didn't want a two hundred pound dog with very sharp teeth growling at him and threatening to bite him just to spank his useless nephew.

And with Dudley throwing fewer tantrums, Petunia became much easier to live with so Vernon soon had very few reasons to want to spank his nephew. The child remained very quiet and as he was fed more he seemed able to do more chores, and the circle of changed behavior just kept growing.

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Arabella was worried at first, Petunia was asking her to watch young Harry less and less, but the first time she saw him, she smiled. It seemed as if he finally had a little meat on his skinny bones and he didn't appear to have any bruises, but the biggest improvement she could see was the child finally seemed to know how to play. He and the big dog had been left for the afternoon so that Petunia could take Dudley to the doctors to get a school physical before starting preschool and then he was going to have a birthday party at the park with several of his friends and Harry wasn't invited.

Arabella put some cookies on a plate, poured two glasses of cold milk and pushed the back door open, smiling at the sight that greeted her. "Harry, why don't you and your friend come over here for a drink and a snack? You both look tired from chasing each other." Harry turned at the sound of her voice, a big grin on his face as he stopped running and grabbed Paddy around the neck for a big hug. He walked over to the little table, his small arm slung around the dog that was almost big enough for him to ride.

"Sorry about your cats, Mrs. Figg. I told Paddy not to chase them all up the tree but he wouldn't listen to me. He didn't catch any of them though." Harry sat down and happily munched on the warm chocolate chip cookie she handed him, before taking a big swallow of milk, a white mustache on his upper lip showing how much he had enjoyed the cold drink.

Mrs. Figg laughed. "To tell you the truth, Harry some of my cats can use the exercise, they're getting too fat and sassy for their own good." Mrs. Figg blinked owlishly; surely the dog hadn't just winked at her?

"That's good then, we can exercise them any time you want." Mrs. Figg couldn't ever remember having a conversation this long with the usually silent child before. She reached over to the stack of cans by the back door and opened a can of tuna that she put down for the dog. He ate it neatly, licking every morsel before going over to lay down with his head under the boy's chair.

Mrs. Figg smiled a big happy smile, it seemed like Dudley's new dog had been very good for more than one small boy.

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Sirius opened the cupboard door and stopped, his head just inside as he spotted the tears on the small boys face. "What's wrong Harry? Why are you crying?"

"Dudley goes to school and he said I'm a 'retard' and too stupid and that's why I don't go. I'm not stupid am I? And what's a 'retard' anyway?"

Sirius scooped the small boy up and cradled him to his chest, using one hand to gently wipe away his tears. "No you aren't stupid and 'retard' isn't a very nice name to call someone. The reason you don't go to preschool is because you are three and a half. You have to be four to go. Don't you remember, Dudley had a birthday last week? The day we chased Mrs. Figgs cats, remember?

The boy giggled, looking better. "I didn't chase cats, Paddy did. But I ate cookies and had milk and it was a wonderful day not like any old stupid birthday party that Dudley had."

Sirius nodded, understanding how much it hurt Harry that he hadn't been invited to attend. "Well when it gets to be your birthday, I'll help you celebrate and it will be just us and no Dudley, how's that?"

He felt small arms throw themselves around his neck and a tiny kiss on the side of his check. He felt his eyes tear up and he hugged Harry tight. "And what do you say I start teaching you so when you go to preschool with Dudley you'll be the smartest little boy in the class?"

"Just the smartest boy? What about the girls?"

"Oh, you'll be way smarter than the girls too, Harry, way smarter."

Sirius sat down and put Harry down on the bed beside him. He pulled out his wand and conjured a small story book, a pad of lined paper and a self-inking quill. Thus began the first of their nightly lessons.

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Harry didn't get to go to preschool that year. Petunia and Vernon weren't willing to pay for their nephew to attend and at any rate it would only be a few short months until he could start kindergarten and it was free after all.

Petunia enjoyed her mornings while Dudley was at preschool very much. Harry still silently helped her with a few small chores each morning and then the small boy always took a nap. She noticed that Paddy tried to fit into the small cupboard with him; he seemed to really miss Dudley while he was gone to school each day. But with Paddy sleeping in the hallway every morning it was just so hard to get around him to clean so she asked Vernon one night, after both boys had gone to sleep of course, what he thought of moving Harry upstairs and into the small bedroom that had been Dudley's toy room.

"Well, if you think we should Petunia, after all it's you that has to clean around Paddy each day. I'm sure that if the boy sleeps up there every morning, then the dog will too and make it much easier for you, precious."

That decided, it just took them several days to figure out the best way to tell Dudley that he wasn't going to have a toy room any more.

"But Diddy, now that you are a big boy, you go to school so you don't need a baby room just for old baby toys any more do you?"

"But they're my toys, Mummy. I don't want _him_ to have my room."

"But sweetie, it's a baby room and you're not a baby any more are you?"

It took several minutes of hard thought with his piggy face screwed up in concentration before he understood what his mother had said. "No, I'm not a BABY I don't want any old BABY room. Let him have it, he's a _BABY_."

Petunia let out the breath she had been holding and smiled at her son. Mrs. Figg had been right; it had worked just like a charm. The next morning she had Harry help her clean out all of the old broken toys, and for his help she let him keep a few of the smaller ones that Dudley no longer played with.

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Arabella scoured the local papers but found nothing. She sighed and called her daughter Anna. "Could you look around for me and find a good set of used bedroom furniture for a small boy? He's just turning five and his aunt still has him sleeping on an old crib mattress on the floor."

"Sure Mum, you know how I love to shop. Are you buying this for him? Is his aunt really poor?" Anna was just as curious as one of her mother's cats.

"No, she just doesn't want to spend any of their hard earned money on the boy. I swear sometimes I just want to strangle _Albus Dumbledore_."

"You can't mean **_Harry Potter_**, Mum can you?" Arabella might be a squib, but her daughter was a fully trained witch just like her two children. "I know you told me he wasn't treated very well, but that's ridiculous. Can I send you a couple bags of Xander's clothes? Do you know what size he would wear? Xander's just going into eights for the school year so I have all of his sixes and most of his fives still, maybe even some fours in the attic."

Arabella smiled. "I'll ask Petunia if she will let the boy have them, it's his birthday next week and he's very small for his age. I suspect the fours will fit, but surely you could shrink a few of the better bigger sized ones for him?"

"I'll get right on it Mum. You know there are several witches at work who have younger boys, I'll ask them to help. Oh, don't worry Mum; I won't say who it's for." Anna talked to her mother for a full half an hour more before hanging up the phone and making her husband bring down several big boxes from up in the attic. He rolled his eyes at her and asked, "Aren't you a witch? Isn't your levitation spell just as good as mine?" She giggled at him and gave him a kiss for his help.

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Petunia had been happy to have some of Mrs. Figgs grandson's outgrown clothes, and was even pleased at the used but still very serviceable bedroom set that she told Petunia her daughter was getting rid of since her daughter wanted something more 'girly' for her tenth birthday. She would never know that Sebastian, Anna's husband had permanently transfigured them from some old boards and sheets that were just lying around in the attic. As a powerful Auror he had more than enough power to make permanent transfigurations from like materials.

Mrs. Figg smirked as her son-in-law drove up in a borrowed muggle truck and delivered the furniture to the Dursleys house. And since Petunia had to take Paddy out to the back yard to keep him from barking too much at Sebastian, Petunia never noticed the furniture and boxes of clothing floating up the stairs all by themselves.

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Harry was the happiest he could ever remember being. It was his birthday and he was now five years old. Sirius had been teaching him every morning while his Aunt thought he took a nap and then woke him up every night for several more hours of schooling and storytelling. And now he had a room that was all his own and nice sturdy furniture that had never belonged to Dudley!

He bounced on his new bed and decided it was the most comfortable bed ever made in the whole wide world. He smiled at his desk and his own chair and his own dresser for his own clothes and even a sturdy two door wardrobe with a mirror on the inside that had never been broken.

The two big square boxes of clothes on the floor represented another treasure to the small boy who had never had new clothes or even anything that fit him before. He knew he would be starting school in just a little over a month and now he wouldn't be ashamed to be seen. No more baggy, Dudley elephant clothes. And his clothes were way cooler than Dudley's since Dudley was so big he could only get the 'super husky' size and they were made for old fuddy duddies, not like _his _new clothes.

He kept unloading the big boxes until he got to the bottom. He pulled up the first of several weird garments and wrinkled his nose at them. Who sent him dresses? His eyebrows scrunched together as he pushed them back down into the box, turning to glare at Sirius who was lounging on the end of his bed, laughing. "Those are wizard robes, Harry. It seems that old Mrs. Figg's grandson must be a wizard. Well have to be careful she doesn't find out about me."

"What should I do with them, Paddy? Do I have to wear dresses too when I'm a wizard?"

Sirius smiled, "Child you _are_ a wizard already. Remember what I taught you about controlling your emotions so that you don't do accidental magic around muggles?"

Harry nodded his head gravely and bit his lower lip in thought. "But do I have to wear dresses?'

Sirius waved a wand and conjured up a wizarding story book. He opened it and showed Harry the moving pictures. Harry had seen wizarding books many times before, but he had just never noticed that the men and boys in the pictures all wore long coats of some kind. He looked at the offending garment in the box and tilted his head in thought. "All right, I guess I can wear them. They don't look too girly when everyone wears them."

Sirius put up his hand to muffle his laughter. "I'll notify the Daily Prophet to let them know that you approve of the way wizards have dressed for centuries. I'm sure it will make front page news." As Harry launched himself at the wizard, Sirius transformed into Paddy and the two rolled around on the bedroom floor, happy barks interspersed with boyish giggles resounding through the house.

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AN: Next: Harry starts kindergarten and the fun begins. Sorry I sort of rushed the first two years together but I hope I made sense of what their routine would be and how gradually the changes would occur without dragging everything out. Nothing much more exciting is happening at this time.


	3. Chapter 3: Excitement at School

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter verse that you recognize.

AN: Thank you for your tremendous response and support for this story. I appreciate each one of my readers especially those who take the time and make the effort to review.

Chapter 3: Excitement at School

Harry was on his feet very early that Monday morning; he was so excited; for today was the day he would actually get to start school. He was up and dressed, his teeth brushed, hair sort of combed, his little backpack that Mrs. Figg gave him all packed with a new pad of paper, his favorite self inking quill ready and sharpened just like Paddy showed him.

He sat impatiently, bouncing gently on his bed, waiting for his Aunt Petunia to call him down for breakfast. He heard her slippered feet slapping down the hall to Dudley's room and the sound of her waking up her son to get dressed for school. As she came back down the hall, she banged on his door, yelling; "Breakfast in ten minutes, boy."

"I'm already ready, Aunt Petunia."

"Good, come down and you can help." was her response. He picked up his bag, straightened out his blanket as best he could and ran down the stairs, anxious to begin learning. The stories that Paddy had told made school seem like such a wonderful, _magical_ experience that he could hardly breathe for his excitement. As he left his room, Paddy came bounding out of Dudley's room and stopped just long enough to lick Harry's face. "Yecch Paddy, that's gross." But he slung one skinny arm over the dog's neck and the two of them bounded down the stairs to the kitchen.

Harry set the table, his years of practice let him do it without even thinking. Petunia put four different kinds of cereal on the table, as well as a bowl of fruit and a jug of milk. Harry poured his bowl full of corn flakes, added several ripe red strawberries and waited without speaking for his aunt to pour the milk into both his glass and his bowl. He knew better than to try himself, the heavy glass bottle was too big for his little hands and she would be very upset if he spilled anything.

After Dudley came galloping down the stairs, his feet making enough noise for five children, Vernon came in directly after, still straightening his tie. He kissed Petunia 'good morning', ruffled Dudley's hair and nodded without speaking to Harry. Harry didn't mind, he could still remember when he would have been yelled at so this was much better.

"Now, you remember Harry, you stay for free lunch, I've filled the paperwork out for you. Dudley, here is your money to buy a lunch card for the month. Don't lose it." Petunia handed a sealed envelope to her son as Vernon yelled at both boys to get a move on; he would be dropping them off on his way to catch the train into Greater Whinging where his firm, Grunnings was located. Petunia handed him his briefcase as he followed the two boys out the door.

Petunia sat at the table, enjoying a quiet cup of hot tea as she contemplated her first child free day in years. She had signed both boys up for the new all day program, now if they both just passed the test on Friday so that they could stay in it, she sighed. As much as she would hate to admit it, she was positive that Harry would pass, but she wasn't so sure about Dudley. She loved her son more than life itself, but studious he was not. Well, perhaps all those months of preschool had made enough of an impression. She put her empty cup into the sink and pulled out a gardening magazine, anxious to read up before her first neighborhood gardening club meeting that she would be attending just that afternoon.

* * *

Running into the school, Harry looked up at the tall doors as he passed, looking for Room 201. His small legs had a hard time climbing the long flight of stairs up to the second floor but he made it by gripping the hand rail tightly, and luckily the correct door was just beside the top of the long staircase. He pushed the door open to find an older lady setting out squares of carpet into a large circle on one side of the large classroom. Used to helping his aunt, he offered. "May I help you Ma'am?"

The lady looked up, a surprised but pleased look upon her face. "And who might you be, child?" Harry liked her; she had a kind face and lots of wrinkles, the kind you get from smiling and laughing. He had been worried that she might be really mean; Paddy had explained that not all teachers were nice.

"Harry Potter, Ma'am. May I help you with something?" Just as he finished Dudley pushed the door open further, almost knocking Harry off of his feet. "Shove it, runt!" was his greeting for his cousin.

The lady frowned at Dudley and asked him, "Your name is…?"

Dudley frowned at her, and curled up one side of his mouth, stupid old woman looking down her nose at him! But he knew he had to answer his teacher so he muttered, "Dudley Dursley." He walked over to the wall of cubbies and threw Harry's jacket down onto the floor so that he could hang his up on the peg, even though most of the other pegs were still empty.

The lady was no longer smiling as she told the boys her name was Mrs. Neely and she would be their teacher. She pointedly told Dudley to go on out the open door and down the stairs to the fenced in playground while she picked up Harry's jacket off the floor and hung it up carefully while frowning at Dudley. She called Harry over to help place the carpet squares out and then let him put a small packet of crayons on each of the fifteen small desks that sat clean and waiting in three long rows for the new students. Harry smiled when he found his desk; it had his name printed in large letters on a strip of heavy paper taped across the top and a chair that was just his size tucked under it. He asked Mrs. Neely if he could leave his book bag at his desk as she shooed him out to the playground with the rest of the students.

* * *

Paddy had whined and pawed at the door until Petunia let him out with an exasperated sigh, "Well, go on out if you must, but don't you be getting all dirty and bringing it back in to my clean house, Paddy." Paddy wasted no time and took off down the sidewalk, his long strides eating the two kilometer distance to his Harry's school. He flopped down just outside the wire fence that surrounded the kindergarten playground and let his tongue loll, catching his breath as he waited for a glimpse of his boy.

* * *

Harry decided that circle time wasn't bad, he had sat next to two of the smaller boys and they had been friendly enough. Dudley had scowled and grunted at him whenever he thought Mrs. Neely wasn't watching, but Harry was well used to his cousin so he ignored him. Hopefully he could make friends with the other two boys during recess.

After she introduced herself and had each new student say their name and a little bit about themselves, it was time to find their desks and sit down for their first writing lesson. The new full day program was directed toward children that already had some skills so there would be a lot of testing the first week, more than a regular kindergarten class ever would have. Harry had listened as the program was explained to his Aunt Petunia last month and he was truly excited that she had signed him up for it.

Mrs. Neely handed out large sheets of faintly lined newsprint and asked each student to print their name at the top of the paper and then draw a picture with their new crayons that told a story about themselves. She told them it could be about their family or something that they liked to do, or somewhere they had traveled. She walked between the desks, stopping to encourage or to help someone write their name if she needed to. She wound up standing beside Dudley for a long time, eventually putting her hand over his and helping him form the letters of his first name in big squiggly letters.

Harry's desk was at the back of the room, near the teacher's desk and so he was the last one she reached. She stopped to watch the small boy, entranced and spellbound with his efforts. His full name was printed neatly across the top of the page, Harry James Potter. Neatly colored directly below his name was a recognizable drawing of Harry throwing a stick to a big almost laughing black dog. And then Harry was carefully finishing up his third sentence on the lines below. "This is my dog, his name is Paddy. He likes to chase sticks and cats. I love Paddy." But the thing that had her speechless was the way that Harry was writing. He had an old fashioned feather quill and was printing with the most precise and beautiful calligraphy she had ever seen, let alone from a kindergartener. She forced herself to say "Very nice, Harry" and continued to her desk to sit down and regain her composure.

* * *

Harry spent most of recess with one hand stuck through the fence, petting Paddy as he told his dog all about his day and how he liked Mrs. Neely a lot. Patrick and Bryan were frightened of the big dog at first, but eventually all three boys were petting Paddy through the fence and talking to each other, eagerly making friends.

Dudley had tried to bully Harry, but a low growl from Paddy let him know that he would be 'punished' later if he didn't leave his cousin alone so after taunting Harry about being a 'stupid poop head' he gathered his friends from preschool together and they went over and kicked the girls off of the swings.

* * *

Petunia was waiting for both boys in the family station wagon when school let out. She grabbed Paddy by the collar and forced him into the back door, "Paddy, this is where you ran off to. You have to stay home; you can't come to school with the boys. The dog catcher will pick you up for being a nuisance." Dudley took advantage of the distraction to shut the car door on Harry's fingers, smirking at the look of pain and the tears in his cousin's eyes. "Cry baby, little runty baby." He whispered under his breath, not wanting his mother or the stupid dog to hear him.

* * *

That night as Harry told him all about his day and watched fascinated as Sirius used his wand to heal the bruises and scrapes from the car door from Harry's fingers, Sirius thought long and hard about how he could continue to teach Harry now, and wondered if the boy was old enough to begin learning magic. Unfortunately he came to no good conclusion as he curled up on the end of Harry's bed, dreaming of hexes he could use on Dudley.

* * *

The teacher's meeting with the Principal on Friday after school was very interesting. No one could remember seeing Noelle Neely so excited, sure she was always cheerful and pleasant, but now she was downright hyper with excitement. Mr. Cooper called the meeting to order and opened the first order of business to the floor. He smiled at Noelle, letting her go first since she was so exuberant. "So Noelle, how are this years new students? Did they all test out okay, any revisions we need to make in placement?"

Noelle stood up, a large pile of papers on the table in front of her. She grabbed the top one and passed it around the staff table, refraining from speaking as the startling picture made its rounds. Gasps of astonishment and surprise greeted the picture and the precise calligraphy that told the simple story about Paddy. Without speaking, she passed the second sheet around. Harry had not only written, in his precise inked calligraphy, every number from one to one hundred as he had been instructed to, he had started writing addition and subtraction problems on the back, clearly done early and bored with the assignment.

Noelle spoke finally, "I called him in at noon recess yesterday and gave him a third grade reading book that I had. He read the first chapter without a flaw; no hesitation or even having to sound out a single word. Then I gave him the first grade end of year addition and subtraction test and he passed it without making an error." She waited for her colleagues to comment and she wasn't disappointed.

"This is remarkable, he did this in class, there is no way he had help with any of this?" Richard Cooper was now almost as excited as Noelle. Betty Carter, the second grade teacher remarked that his math skills were as high as any of her students and higher than most. Robert Markus, the new sixth grade teacher, was almost speechless, "I wish my students had handwriting like this, it would sure make grading their papers a lot easier."

Excited discussion ensued for the next half hour as everyone had suggestions about what to do with little Harry Potter. Mr. Cooper finally stopped the talking by saying that he would get in touch with the superintendent on Monday to find out what their options for Harry were, since he obviously didn't belong in _kindergarten_, even if it was the accelerated all day program.

* * *

Dudley was horrendous to Harry all weekend, calling him 'teacher's pet' and 'suck up, poop head' and anything else he could get away with whenever both boys were alone. Dudley had been strangely silent when his mother asked him each night how his school had been, though he complained loudly about having to go all day since his friends Piers and Dennis didn't have to.

Harry spent most of the weekend in his bedroom with the door closed, Sirius cast silencing spells so that he could sit and talk with Harry. They had a grand time talking and playing, but Sirius was somewhat distracted as he pondered ways of being able to continue Harry's schooling himself. He wasn't against Muggles or muggle schools, he just didn't think they would be able to challenge such a bright child as Harry and he was worried that between boredom and Dudley's incessant bullying, Harry would cast accidental magic and get in trouble. Most pureblooded children were exclusively home schooled so that any outbursts of magic could be contained and controlled by the adults around them. He also had to make sure that Petunia didn't catch him sneaking out of the back yard to follow his boy to school, as she had taken to doing after finding him after school on Monday.

* * *

Richard Cooper was rather disappointed when he returned from the meeting with the superintendent. She had agreed with Cooper and Neely's assessment, unfortunately there really wasn't any place open for the boy. And with his cousin already showing signs of bullying and jealousy she wasn't too keen on Harry skipping any grades, especially at just barely five years old. Noelle Neely had reported that there was no way that Dudley would continue to qualify for the accelerated program so at least he would no longer be in the same class with his cousin, but they would still share the playground at the same times and that could prove to be a problem.

* * *

Richard had arranged a meeting between Mrs. Neely and Mrs. Dursley for that afternoon so they could discuss Dudley and Harry's continued schooling. As much as they would hate to loose such a gifted and talented child, it might be best if they could convince Mrs. Dursley to transfer Harry to the local private academy which was nationally known for their academic achievement and excellence. It was rather expensive but surely the family would recognize the rare treasure they had in their nephew. Richard had even called the Headmaster to inquire about a scholarship for the five year old if necessary.

After school, Petunia walked up the steps to the second story classroom, worried about what the teacher's meeting was all about. She hoped that her precious Dudley had passed all of the placement tests, but that Mr. Cooper had said this meeting was about her nephew Harry, as well as her son so she had no idea what the teacher would say. She was certain that Harry had placed into the class. She had heard him several times over the summer, sitting outside in the shade reading one of Dudley's old storybooks to Padfoot.

"Mrs. Dursley, I'm Noelle Neely your son's and your nephew's teacher. Won't you come in and sit down." Mrs. Neely's manner put Petunia at ease; maybe this wouldn't be too bad after all. Maybe both boys had tested out just fine.

"Thank you for coming in, the playground monitor will be keeping an eye on the two boys while we speak if that's all right with you?" At Petunia's nod, Mrs. Neely continued.

"I'm afraid, Mrs. Dursley that your son Dudley isn't ready for an accelerated kindergarten program. His academics just aren't there yet, and he finds it very frustrating. Unfortunately he is taking his frustrations out on your nephew Harry and is bullying him quite badly at recess and in the halls. Have you noticed an increase in fighting between the boys at home?" Mrs. Neely asked gently, inviting confidence.

"Well, no but then there wouldn't be; would there?" Petunia admitted.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Mrs. Dursley."

"Well, the boy can't fight with Dudley. My husband wouldn't tolerate it if Harry tried to fight with our son." Petunia was matter of fact about her husband's continuing intolerance of any sign that Harry would try to defend himself against their son. He still refused to admit that Dudley was a bully, or that Harry could possibly be innocent or defenseless against the much bigger boy.

"Well, that does make things difficult for all of you, doesn't it?" Mrs. Neely was non committal as she tried to digest what she had just been told. No wonder poor Harry was so polite and non-aggressive even when his cousin was bullying him. Mrs. Neely filed that information away to discuss with the school psychologist later and continued speaking.

"Now, Harry however, has tested well above what we would have expected for a young five year old. Have you been working with him, teaching him yourself?"

"No, no actually I haven't. Harry does like to read to the dog and he spends a lot of time just sitting and reading in his room. Why what did his tests show?" Petunia thought she should at least show interest in her nephew's results though in fact her mind was busily trying to find a way of telling Vernon that his strapping fine son was failing out of the accelerated program. She knew that Dudley would be perfectly happy attending the half day program with his friends Piers and Dennis, but Vernon would _not_ be happy at all.

Mrs. Neely just reached around behind her to her desk and brought back a file folder with Harry's name printed neatly on it. She handed over the same papers that she had shown to her colleagues and waited for the woman's reaction.

Petunia looked up flabbergasted as she held the first one in her hand. Without saying a word she looked intently at the rest of the papers in the folder. She carefully straightened the stack and placed it neatly back into the folder before sitting up straight and prim, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. "What does this mean for him?"

"Well we discussed Harry simply skipping a grade or two, but the superintendent doesn't really want to do that. The best option would be to enroll Harry in the Greenbrier Academy. Our principal, Mr. Cooper has talked to the Headmaster and made tentative arrangements for Harry to be formally tested and placed in a more appropriate grade level at the Academy. I do understand that it might be a little too much for your family finances, after all Greenbrier tuition is _quite expensive_ and then there are uniforms, meals and transportation in addition, but it is an opportunity for Harry to really excel and have his truly remarkable intellect challenged." She reached down to pick up the brochure for Greenbrier to hand to Petunia when they were interrupted by a horrifying scream from just outside the partly open door.

* * *

The Playground monitor had been keeping an eagle eye on Dudley the entire time the two boys were down on the playground. She had already pegged the slightly overweight boy as a bully and none of his actions over the last week had changed her mind. Harry however, was quietly reading a library book while sitting on the steps leading up into the school. She checked her watch and sighed, Mrs. Neely had promised she would only be a half hour and that time was now up. She had her own responsibilities to complete as well as her own children to pick up from the sitter, so she called to Dudley and sent the two boys up the stairs while she turned to lock and chain the playground door.

Dudley had reached the top of the stairs first; Harry was walking slowly as he continued to read the fascinating story of Narnia. Dudley stopped and listened at the partly open door wondering what that old prune Mrs. Neely wanted with his mother. He didn't care when she said he didn't pass their stupid old tests, who wants to be a teacher's pet anyway and now he could go just half day and play with his friends every afternoon. But his face turned red and his fists clenched as he heard them talking about that runt, that miserable little git, how dare he get something that Dudley didn't get and he was sure that the money his parents would be spending for some fancy, shmancy school for wimps would be money they _wouldn't_ be spending on _HIM_! He turned, roaring in anger just as Harry put one foot on the top step. Dudley saw red and he channeled all of his anger about that stupid dog liking Harry better than him, and the way he couldn't get whatever he wanted with that stupid cousin and that dratted dog around, and ran the three steps to where Harry was quietly climbing. He put both hands onto Harry's chest and shoved with all of his weight and momentum behind it.

His lips curled up in satisfaction as his eyes tightened into beady little black dots. Harry was too startled to scream for the first second but after that his terrified screams echoed through the empty hallways and out into the school grounds. Overbalanced, the force and direction of Dudley's shove flipped Harry so that he tumbled and rolled, his head hitting the third step down, then his shoulder on the next one, his leg cracked and twisted on the sixth as he finally turned enough for his sides to absorb most of the impact from the hard cement steps, tumbling over and over down the long staircase. He sprawled at the bottom, with a final sickening crack of breaking bone, deathly quiet as the playground mentor screamed above the bleeding child.

Petunia and Noelle both rushed from the classroom, horrorstricken at the sight of Dudley standing, his arms folded triumphantly over his round chest, at the top of the stairs, his broken and bleeding cousin lying at the monitor's feet as she stammered, her finger pointing directly at Dudley. **_"He did it deliberately, I saw him push Harry. He did it on purpose!" _**She was now nearly hysterical as Richard Cooper came running out of his office, the heart stopping screams having alerted him to trouble in his school. He yelled back at his secretary, "Call the police and get an ambulance here, NOW! See if the nurse is still here; if she is have her bring the first aid kit." He hadn't stopped running as he yelled instructions. Mrs. Neely had a firm grip on Dudley's arm as she marched him down the blood spattered staircase, Petunia carefully stepping down, her face ashen, her hand gripped so tight to the handrail that her fingers were white.

"Is he, is he…" Petunia couldn't bear to ask the question, but Harry was so still she was sure he was dead. Richard looked up at the white faced woman as he knelt and covered Harry with his jacket to keep him warm. "No, but he's not in very good shape." Petunia sank down onto the bottom step and dropped her head into her hands. "What will happen to Dudley now?"

She didn't even notice the disgusted looks of the three educators as they noticed her lack of concern for her badly injured nephew.

* * *

Petunia had chained Sirius securely to a clothesline post that was cemented to one side of the Dursley's backyard before she left for the conference with Harry and Dudley's teacher. He had waited just long enough to hear her station wagon roar to life and then the sound of her carefully backing up and then traveling down the street at a safe and slow speed. He transformed back, thankful that his neck as a dog was actually larger in circumference that his neck as a human otherwise he might strangle himself on his own collar. He reached up and undid the chain that was hooked to his dog collar. He smiled as he moved away and changed back to Paddy, before he opened the gate latch with his nose and took off down the street intent upon hearing as much of the conference as he was able to.

He loped down the sidewalks, carefully avoiding the children still walking home or those heading off to play in the park on the nice afternoon. He was just a single block away from the school when his canine ears picked up a shrill sound that made his heart flutter in fear; he sped up, running as fast as his four swift legs would take him. 'That scream was Harry's!'

His claws slipping and sliding on the polished cement floors of the old school, he came crashing to a stop against the legs of the playground monitor that he had seen several times over the last week. With a shriek of shock and fear, she sat down abruptly, landing on the squirming large black dog. Petunia looked up and recognized the dog she had tied up before leaving home. "It's Paddy, our dog." Her voice was oddly flat in inflection, the shock of what had happened finally sinking in.

One of the policemen helped the woman up off the dog as Paddy crawled forward, his belly touching the cold cement as he whined his frustration and fear. He could smell blood, way too much blood and he recognized it as Harry's.

He snuck his way between the two paramedics busily working on the small boy and forced his nose into Harry hand, a low keening noise escaping his throat as there was no response. He snarled as the woman medic turned to the policeman behind her and demanded that he remove the dog so that she could work. Paddy allowed the bobby to grab his collar, but he dug in his feet and arched his back, refusing to be moved more than a couple of feet away. The poor man gave up and just stood out of the medics' way as he grasped the collar with both hands, thankful the dog was no longer fighting as he was quite certain that in a full out fight, the _do_g would win.

* * *

It had taken the paramedics an interminably long time to stabilize the small child, his injuries were extensive and his blood pressure was dropping because of the copious amounts of blood he was losing. But they finally had him stabilized, bandaged and strapped tightly to a back board. He looked so tiny on the large stretcher when they pushed the gurney out the still open front doors and loaded him up in the ambulance. Noelle gave Petunia a disgusted glare when she made no movement to climb into the ambulance and remained sitting on the bottom step, her fat son sitting beside her.

She stopped just long enough to ask Richard to have someone drive her car to the hospital so that she could get home later before climbing in beside her too still student, clasping his hand tightly in her own and murmuring encouragement to him as the paramedics strapped his narrow bed down, and latched the door securely. The ambulance took off with a squeal of tires and a rhythmic blaring of its siren, the howl of pure agony from the still restrained dog matching the horrific sound before he jerked his collar out of the startled bobby's hand and took off at a ground eating lope behind the disappearing ambulance.

* * *

AN: Now that's a cliffhanger. I'm not really sorry for leaving you hanging, it seems mean as a reader, but it's actually quite fun as a writer. For those who are reading _You Broke Him, You_ _Fix Him_ as well, it will be a while before that is updated, I must recover from the many burns inflicted by all the flames I received before I can get in the mood to type on that one again. 


	4. Chapter 4: To The Rescue Part 1

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter verse that you recognize.

AN: Thank you for your tremendous response and support for this story. I appreciate each one of my readers especially those who take the time and make the effort to review.

From Chapter 3:

_It had taken the paramedics an interminably long time to stabilize the small child, his injuries were extensive and his blood pressure was dropping because of the copious amounts of blood he was losing. But they finally had him stabilized, bandaged and strapped tightly to a back board. He looked so tiny on the large stretcher when they pushed the gurney out the still open front doors and loaded him up in the ambulance. Noelle gave Petunia a disgusted glare when she made no movement to climb into the ambulance and remained sitting on the bottom step, her fat son sitting beside her._

_She stopped just long enough to ask Richard to have someone drive her car to the hospital so that she could get home later before climbing in beside her too still student, clasping his hand tightly in her own and murmuring encouragement to him as the paramedics strapped his narrow bed down, and latched the door securely. The ambulance took off with a squeal of tires and a rhythmic blaring of its siren, the howl of pure agony from the still restrained dog matching the horrific sound before he jerked his collar out of the startled bobby's hand and took off at a ground eating lope behind the disappearing ambulance._

Chapter 4: To The Rescue (Part 1)

Paddy's heart was pounding with the effort to keep running, his lungs burning with his need for more oxygen. But he could not, would not stop until he reached his child, his Harry, his pup. The ambulance was just turning ahead into a large four story white plastered building, it's siren winding down after a final high pitched scream as it passed the _'Emergency Entrance'_ sign. Paddy took a single moment to stop, gulp several large lungs full of air before starting to run again.

He skidded to a stop and disappeared into the decorative hedge that surrounded the parking lot and took a moment to glance around carefully. 'Nope, no one in sight' he thought, before changing back into human form. He took another quick moment to flick his wand over his clothes, changing into white shirt, tie and dress slacks. A second flick changed his shoes. He stood up, being careful to escape from the hedge before striding purposefully into the emergency room, following the gurney they had just removed from the ambulance.

A flurry of doctors and nurses greeted the arrival of Harry and his entourage, not taking any time; they ran the large stretcher with its small precious cargo through heavy double doors and into a large, well equipped bay. One paramedic crouched on the side of the gurney, her hands keeping up the rhythmic pushing in and out of the air bag that was keeping air flowing into the badly damaged chest.

Sirius ducked into a small linen room and grabbed a long white coat that was stacked in a neat pile, his wand conjuring a name tag to hang on the pocket as he had seen the other medical personnel wear. He layered a 'notice me not' charm and a 'chameleon charm' over himself, stepped out and followed the technician pushing a large x-ray machine through the double doors and into Harry's cubicle.

The nurse at the receiving desk had halted Mrs. Neely's frantic advance and was asking questions that she had no way of answering. A second pulse of a siren announced the arrival of Petunia Dursley and two policeman, one in uniform and the other dressed in a nondescript, well worn brown suit with scuffed brown shoes. The detective had Petunia's upper arm firmly grasped and he was moving the woman to the reception desk at a good clip, the uniformed officer following, a look of utter disgust upon his young face.

Mrs. Neely backed off, letting Petunia continue filling in the forms, but she remained within hearing distance, wanting to know what was happening. "How is the boy?" The detective asked the receptionist. "We don't know yet, he was not breathing on his own when he arrived, and the paramedics reported multiple fractures, a concussion with a possible skull fracture, and internal bleeding." She read rather heartlessly from a form on an old dog eared wooden clipboard. Mrs. Neely frowned at the woman's lack of emotion, but then she sighed, realizing the poor woman must deal with this every day.

The detective leaned over to the uniformed man and muttered with him for several minutes, unfortunately they were too far away for Noelle to hear more than disjointed phrases, "have child services collect the Dursley boy" and "psychiatric evaluation" made her smile slightly evilly as she heard them. Petunia just doggedly filled out form after form, her shock keeping her oblivious to everything around her until with a 'whoosh' of the electric doors, a huge, very bulky man waddled in, and stopping only a moment to evaluate the room, rushed over to Petunia and wrapped his beefy arms around the thin, horse faced woman. She buried her face in his well padded shoulder and started to sob hysterically. "Dudley, he…he…pushed Harry down the stairs…and now…he's been taken…and the doctors….won't tell me…Harry might die!"

Vernon patted his wife on her boney shoulder, his mustache quivering as he thought over how drastically his life had just changed in a single afternoon cursing again the day that blasted, useless whelp of a demon had been left on their doorstep.

* * *

Sirius hugged the far wall, out of the way but able to watch everything unobstructed. His face pale, his hands shaking as he watched, impotent and scared, as they poked various needles into Harry's arms, hooking him up to bags of clear potions, a strange machine with a small bellows inside a glass cylinder making a soft 'whoosh, whoosh' that matched the steady rise and fall of the bruised and battered chest. Harry was still strapped on the board, a wide white bandage across his forehead contrasted with the shocking black hair and the pasty white face below. A high pitched beeping announced Harry's heartbeat and a glowing panel with all sorts of squiggly lines and incomprehensible numbers was positioned above Harry's bed so that all could easily see it. Sirius wished he knew what all the numbers and lines meant, but he was helpless and unable to even ask without being exposed.

After looking over the black pictures with shadowy white images on them, the three doctors gathered together to discuss their findings, luckily choosing the quiet corner that hid Sirius.

"He has swelling on the brain; we might need to relieve that before the night is over, but that will have to wait until we repair his lacerated liver and ruptured spleen and his left lung is punctured from multiple fractured ribs. His other internal organs appear to have escaped serious damage, but we'll know more after surgery." Dr. Wang turned to his colleagues to listen to their assessment. The orthopedist, Dr. McGivney shook his head, "It looks like his right leg will need reconstructive surgery, and the ribs can be wired and repaired when the original repairs to his lungs are done, but the worst orthopedic injury is his spine. It appears to be fractured between T-5 and T-6. There is some swelling of the spinal cord, but it doesn't appear to be severed, luckily. We will have to immobilize him while the vertebrae heal or he could be paralyzed for life."

The neurologist was the final speaker. "I can't tell for certain until the child awakens of course, but there doesn't appear to be massive brain injury. He does of course have a severe concussion with a hairline fracture of his skull, but there hasn't been a brain bleed, just swelling. Hopefully we can manage that with medications, I would prefer not to have to do brain surgery on the boy, especially with his other injuries. The fracture of his skull may just act as a relief valve, allowing his skull to give somewhat to relieve the pressure of the swelling."

Dr. Wang spoke up again, "I will go speak with the parents and gain consent for surgery then. Are you wanting to repair his leg while he is anesthetized, Dr. McGivney? Or will you wait?"

Dr. Becker, the neurologist interjected, "I would prefer you keep his exposure to anesthesia to a minimum if possible. If his leg requires surgery at this time it would be best to do it all at once. The strain of a double surgery is bad, but two surgeries would be worse." Dr. McGivney accepted his colleague's recommendation and filled out a surgical consent form for Dr. Wang to have signed at the same time as the one to repair his internal organs. The three doctors turned and walked back to their small patient. Discussing treatment plans and options as they walked, but Sirius was beyond listening any more. He had to save his boy and there was only one way to do it, even if it meant he had to return to Azkaban. It would be worth being Kissed if it made his Harry whole again.

Sirius slid around the bulky, beeping and whirring machinery and slipped out the door, silent tears streaming down his cheeks, determined resolve in his every movement. He fled the waiting room, barely sparing a disgusted glance at the Dursleys as they huddled together being questioned quite thoroughly by a plain clothed detective, Mrs. Neely sat watching the closed double doors, a handkerchief gripped in one clenched fist as she mindlessly wiped the tears from her eyes.

* * *

Mrs. Figg entered her fussy and overcrowded sitting room, absentmindedly turning on the telly for a spot of news as she bustled into the kitchen, her string bag of groceries clanking against her leg as she carefully walked, her multitude of cats weaving in and out of her legs, meowing at the sound of the cans clinking together. She had one ear out for the news to begin as she opened her cupboard, pulling down the large ceramic bowl she mixed her cats' dinner in. She poured a healthy amount of dry food into the bowl and reached for the can opener to open the two cans of wet food she always mixed in when what the announcer was saying became clear.

"And in horrifying news this evening, a five year old boy in Little Whinging was injured critically when his cousin, also five deliberately pushed him down the stairs at school today. The names of both the victim and his assailant are being withheld because of the extremely young age of both. Doctors at Greater Whinging Hospital have released a statement that the boy is in critical condition. He has several internal injuries, a head injury and it appears that his spine is fractured. Doctors don't know yet if the boy will be paralyzed as a result of the fall. The child, who lives with his aunt, uncle and cousin after the tragic death of his own parents at just a year of age, is undergoing surgery as we speak. We'll update you later in the evening as word becomes available. The five year old cousin has been taken to a receiving home and it will be decided later exactly what his punishment will be."

The metal can opener hit the floor unnoticed, followed by both cans of cat food. Arabella rushed to the fireplace, grabbed the special red floo powder that allowed a squib to fire call through the floo and struck a match, lighting the fire that would allow her to speak directly with Albus Dumbledore. And speak to him, she would!

* * *

Sirius ducked into the hedges once more and reappeared as Paddy. He took off down the street, his nose in the air as he sought an empty quiet spot where he could apperate out without notice. His nose led him to a smelly alley, its dustbins overflowing with refuse that would discourage anyone, even a homeless person from inhabiting. He switched back to Sirius and focused his mind on his old friends cottage, pushing the anguish and despair over Harry from his mind to gain the concentration necessary to apperate. He sent a silent prayer to the gods that Moony still lived in the small cottage that his parents had left him after they died and with a barely audible pop of air displacing he disappeared.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was busy filling in attendance and enrollment forms for the ministry. With just a week of the new term behind them, it was looking like a good year ahead. Enrollment was still rising after the slump caused by the decline in births Voldemort's first rise to terror had caused. He smiled as he contemplated the enrollment surge they would have in several more years to match the tremendous boom in births just nine months after the defeat of the dark lord. Of course he didn't believe the evil wizard was truly gone, but that hadn't stopped the huge increase in births that followed his disappearance.

A shrill haranguing noise behind him made him drop the quill from his fingers as he turned, his glasses slipping down his nose as he stood suddenly. "Albus Dumbledore, I told you that boy was being abused and now his thrice damned cousin has **_killed him_**! Where are you; you blasted old fool?" Arabella ranted on, not stopping to listen for an answer.

"Arabella, what's wrong, what's this about Harry being …dead?" Albus felt his chest constrict, his heart pounding as his thoughts whirled, almost incoherently. 'But the prophecy…no it can't be…no…_dead_?' He stooped down so that he was face to face with the old woman, her irate face streaked with tears of both pain and rage.

"I _warned_ you, over and over about those filthy muggles! The bruises, the scars…but no… he's safe…you must be exaggerating…Well, now that whale Dudley did it!"

"Please, Arabella, tell me what has happened?" The old man's face was as white as his beard and he had aged decades in the last few moments. "Please, step on through." He cancelled the warding spell and reached a hand into the fire, helping the old squib into his office. Since her house was only connected to the floo in his office, it was a matter of a single step.

He walked Arabella over to a comfortable chair and sat her down, taking the chair directly across from her, their knees almost touching as he leaned forward, his eyes dull, and the pain clearly visible on his face reflecting the agony on hers.

"You said…Harry…is dead? How?" He almost couldn't force the words from his mouth, all of his plans forgotten in a single moment of horror.

"No, he's not yet, but the news said the doctors don't know if he'll live." Arabella took a moment to wipe the tears from her face with a delicately embroidered lace handkerchief before blowing her nose loudly on the fabric square. Albus took that moment to call several people to his office, sending the special patronus alarm that let them know it was an emergency and that they should drop everything and appear as quickly as possible to his office.

Albus reached forward and grabbed one of Arabella's hands between his own two suddenly cold ones and asked her gently to wait just a moment for the others to arrive so that she only had to tell the obviously distressing story once.

She nodded silently, trying vainly to regain her composure as she thought again of the horrific news report. She absently nodded when Minerva McGonagall, Poppy Pomfrey and Severus Snape appeared in rapid succession through the floo and pulled chairs over to sit in a rough semi circle around her. Albus let go of her hand and leaned back. "I know that this is painful, but I must ask you to tell us everything you know."

Arabella took a deep breath and began her story. "I _warned_ Albus that Harry…" Severus stood up halfway to his feet and snarled, "**_Potter_**! What has the blasted boy done, just like his…" Albus pulled Severus down and shushed him before he could work himself up into full tirade mode. "Not now, Severus, not now." Albus said softly, motioning for Arabella to continue.

"Harry has been neglected, almost starved, and _abused_ ever since Albus left him with those…those…muggles! And I kept _telling_ him to remove the boy before it got _too late_. It was better after they got the dog, but he's still much too small and too quiet. He doesn't have as many bruises, but they still aren't treating him right! And you knew it all along, Albus." She looked at him accusingly.

"Yes, Arabella, but what happened today to bring you here, you said something about…doctors…and not knowing if the child will…live?" He hesitated, reluctant to say the words aloud.

Minerva and Poppy let out identical gasps of horror and shock and even Snape looked slightly green at what he was hearing. "There was a news broadcast, I was feeding my cats…well that's no matter now…when I heard the man say that a five year old boy had been pushed deliberately down the stairs by his five year old cousin at school. The child, they didn't say his name, was in critical condition and the doctors were operating on him now."

Snape twisted his face in a snarl. "How do you even know it's the _Potter brat_? It could be…"

Arabella cut him off, "Because they said he was an orphan who lives with his aunt and uncle after his parents died when he was one. Sound familiar, _Snape_?" She matched his snarl right back at him.

Snape shut up as everyone turned to glare at him. "Did they say anything about his injuries?" Poppy asked quickly, her mind reviewing potions and spells she might need.

"Yes, some. Let me think…a severe concussion, internal bleeding…multiple fractures, and he might be paralyzed because his spine was damaged…but I don't remember if there was anything else." She stopped; her voice cracking as she forced the last few words out around the lump in her throat.

Every adult in the room, including the normally bombastic Snape, had turned progressively whiter and whiter as the list continued.

Poppy stood up, telling the group over her shoulder, "Give me ten minutes to gather the necessary potions…Severus I will need you to fetch some nerve renewal potion and a large flask of swelling reducer if you have any…or start brewing it…" She had left the room through the inter castle floo before she even finished speaking.

Albus asked hesitantly "Arabella, can you take us to where they have him?"

At her nod, he turned to Snape, "Do you have those potions in stock, Severus?" the tall man stood, nodded once and disappeared with a billowing sweep of black robes into the fireplace, the green flash of his disappearance raising a small cloud of grey dust.

Minerva, Albus and Arabella stood waiting impatiently for what seemed like hours before Severus returned with a large cloudy bluish white potion clearly visible through the large glass flagon and a medium sized glass bottle with a bright red viscous liquid clutched protectively within his arms. A few long minutes later and Poppy stepped out of the fireplace, a large leather satchel over one shoulder and held close to her chest with a strong arm.

Albus swished his long elegant wand around and changed all of their clothing into unobtrusive muggle gear, well unobtrusive for the late Victorian period. With a roll of her eyes, Minerva pulled her own wand and switched everyone's clothing to something much more modern. A quick flash of floo powder and they all arrived in Arabella's own sitting room.

* * *

Dudley was throwing a temper tantrum, one he had been saving up all of his energy for and one he was thoroughly enjoying. He screamed; he threw things; he tore his own clothes and pounded his meaty fists on the walls, leaving smudges and even a few very satisfying dents in the plasterboard. His face scrunched up, cheeks flaming with indignation and impotent rage he finally threw himself down onto the carpeted floor and began banging his head rhythmically up and down.

Outside the one way glass mirror, several professionals with clipboards took copious notes, making small remarks to each other as they continued to write their observations. "Not a single tear, is there?"

"Haven't seen one yet, you think this is totally staged too?"

"No doubt… he's enjoying it, the little bastard."

"Hyper aggressive or sociopath?"

"Can't tell yet, maybe both; we'll see what comes up in the next few days as he continues with the testing."

The group returned to their observations, totally unimpressed with Dudley's histrionics.

* * *

Sirius stumbled, it was a long time since he had apperated and particularly not as far as he had just come. He turned around trying to recognize exactly where he had landed, hopefully not too far from Moony's place. He spotted a familiar large oak tree and changing back to his much faster dog form, he took off at a run, the familiar presence of Moony's fresh scent reassuring the distraught man that his friend still lived near, now if he would just listen to him long enough to help him!

A short five minute dash through the woods, leaves showering behind him as he scrambled over logs and through the underbrush, brought him to a cheerful two story cottage nestled deep in the forest of Scotland. A thin stream of smoke escaped the crooked stone chimney, bringing the smell of a hearty stew with it. The roughly hewn old door had been newly painted red and the kitchen window had been enlarged at some point but it still looked almost exactly as it had four long years ago, the last time Sirius had visited before the tragic events of the fateful Halloween night tore the friends apart, seemingly forever.

Sirius transformed back, took a single moment to straighten his robes and shake a few leaves out of his neatly trimmed black hair before he gathered up his courage and walked the familiar stone path to the door, raising his fist to knock in his familiar pattern.

Moony almost dropped the bowl of stew he had just dished as a sound he hadn't heard in years pounded through his memories. 'It couldn't be…they had said he was dead…died in Azkaban before they found out he was innocent….and that worm….' Moony forced his thoughts back to the present as his heart leaped to hear the familiar knocking pattern repeated.

He flung the bowl down, not caring if the gravy slopped on the table, rushed to the door and flung it open, sweeping the surprised man into a rib cracking hug, a few tears of joy unnoticed as they gathered on his smiling face. "Sirius, they said you were dead! How, when…come in, come in." Remus moved back, his arms not letting his friend go as he ushered him into the warm and inviting room. Sirius was looking rather shell shocked at his reception, he had expected to have to explain his innocence at wand point. After all he had escaped from Azkaban three years ago and was still a fugitive on the run.

Remus pulled Sirius by his arm out of the kitchen they had entered and into the sitting room, sitting down and pulling Sirius down beside him onto the long couch. "How did you get out of Azkaban and why haven't you gone to the Ministry yet? I've been reading the Prophet but they haven't mentioned anything about you since the furor over Crouch and Pettigrew settled down. How are you, and why did you wait so long to come here? I've _worried _about you, old friend. I was certain that you had died when nothing more was said about you." The tears were still flowing, but Remus took no note of them as he continued to bombard his long missing friend with questions that he didn't wait to hear the answer to.

Sirius just held up one hand and placed it over Remus' mouth so he could talk to the man. "What do you mean about Crouch and Pettigrew? Did they catch that rat?"

"Well, no not yet, but they finally did test your wand and they know it wasn't you. The new Head of Magical Law Enforcement has declared you innocent of all charges, but they don't know if you died and the dementors disposed of your body or if you had escaped. Obviously you escaped…I mean you're here, I'm so happy that you are here, Sirius, I've missed you, old buddy."

Sirius sat back on the couch, digesting the new information. 'If he was clear he could take guardianship of Harry and…_Harry_!"

"Just listen, Moony I need your help. I've been with Harry for the last few years as Paddy. He knows about me but nobody else does, today his fat…_bastard_…of a cousin pushed him down the stairs…Oh Moony, it was awful, him lying there at the bottom of the stairs…and the blood…and he was so still…and I couldn't do anything!" Sirius' shoulders shook as he sobbed, his grief and fear for the boy he loved finally taking hold of his emotions. Moony just grabbed Sirius and held him tightly, his own emotions beginning to churn as the hurt and horror that Sirius was feeling gripped his own heart in a vise.

"How is he…what can I do to help, Paddy?" the voice was soft and gentle, but the support and comfort were understood. Sirius sat back up, a small smile of thanks all the two friends needed between them. "They took him to hospital, they are doing surgery as I speak. He _broke his back_ Moony, they don't know if he'll be paralyzed…we can't leave him to _Muggle medicine_, Moony…we just can't!"

Remus stood up and resolutely walked back into the kitchen where a small fire was burning in the fireplace. He opened the small pot sitting on the mantel, and grabbed a pinch of familiar green floo powder. "Coming, Paddy we must go to Hogwarts. Poppy will fix him up, I'm sure she can!"

The first small glimmer of hope beginning to settle into his broken heart as he followed his best friend into the fireplace, Sirius Black returned to Hogwarts.

* * *

AN: I have taught hyper aggressive children and sociopaths (as well as one three year old already classified as homicidal!). Neither group is fun to work with. The last kindergarten class I taught had 54 students, 27 in the morning and 27 in the afternoon, including developmentally delayed, learning disorders, physically handicapped, emotionally disturbed and every other type of student thrown together. So my take on Harry is that he is at the top of the scale for his age, but not super genius, yes I did teach one six year old in the sixth grade that was labeled that, she had multiple problems adjusting her chronological age with her intellectual age, wouldn't wish that on anyone.

I am mostly basing Harry on my own life; I could read and write at the age of three, by kindergarten I was reading chapter books my nine year old sister brought home for me (She was reading at the eighth grade level by then). I could add and subtract before I started school and started formal algebra in the fourth grade. My first book report was on the complete chronicles of Narnia; and that was near the end of first grade, I was five at the time. So it may sound a little strange, but it is not unheard of.

Thanks again for all of you who have read and enjoyed my poor efforts at entertainment. I appreciate hearing from you.


	5. Chapter 5: To The Rescue Part 2

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter verse that you recognize.

AN: Thank you for your tremendous response and support for this story. I appreciate each one of my readers especially those who take the time and make the effort to review (I now have several years worth of virtual burn cream).

Chapter 5: To The Rescue (part 2)

Arabella Figg led Albus, Minerva, Poppy and Severus quickly through the swarming mass of cats and out the front door. Mr. Tibbles gave up on his person feeding them tonight and jumped up on the tile counter and buried his large fluffy head into the large bowl of dry food, munching contentedly until the arrival of several other cats knocked the bowl down onto the linoleum floor, causing the bowl to crack into several large pieces and the dry food to scatter across the floor, cats swarming to catch it like children for the candy in a piñata.

The two wizards, two witches and one squib squeezed into Arabella's old and battered rusty green Ford Anglia, Severus' face plainly showing his distaste at being squeezed in the middle of the back seat between Minerva and Poppy, her large bag of potions poking him in the ribs with every bump and left turn in the road, and Minerva sliding into him every time Arabella turned the old car right, starting with the turn out of her driveway, the old squib more intent upon reaching the hospital and little Harry as quickly as possible than the comfort of her backseat passengers.

She took a moment to point one arm out the window at Number 4, the floppy sag of her upper arm wiggling below the sleeve of her faded flowered dress as she pulled her arm in to continue driving. The nine kilometer trip to the Whinging Hospital took less time than Arabella ever remembered it taking before, but it was still much too long for her frazzled nerves to take as she squealed tires and ran up the curb on the corners.

Severus snarled audibly as Poppy's bag bruised his ribs again and then the mediwitch followed her bag and slid onto the skinny man, pushing him up and over into Minerva's lap as they made the last, skidding turn into the parking lot without slowing down at all. Cussing as she turned down the long row and not finding a single parking space, Bella started to turn down the next row, when Albus pulled his wand from his sleeve where he sat completely steady and upright. He incanted a spell softly, forcing the cars to jump apart and make another space right in front of the doors for them.

Arabella wrenched the key from the ignition and flung open her door, hardly waiting for the others to extricate themselves from the tumble of arms and legs filling the back seat. The three fell out the rear door to follow the swiftly striding squib and the tall, elegant older wizard into the large, imposing and thoroughly Muggle building. Severus stopped abruptly, his eyes widened in surprise as the double glass doors opened before he could reach for the handle but he pushed his wonder at how muggles did that aside, to follow the others in. Albus had cast charms over all five of them before they hurried through the crowded waiting room, though Minerva had to grab Poppy by the arm to stop her from going over to the obviously bleeding man sitting calmly in a bizarrely colored plastic chair, waiting for his turn, a bloody towel pressed tightly to his scalp.

Quickly muttering a 'trust me' spell, Albus stepped up to the reception desk and asked the flustered and too busy receptionist where they might find the boy 'Harry Potter'. Without blinking an eye, he informed the woman that he was indeed the child's 'grandfather', that Minerva was his 'grandmother' and the others were his two aunts and uncle. With the charm in place, the woman directed them without question to the surgical waiting room on the third floor and just pointed vaguely toward a bank of gleaming stainless steel elevators across the teeming room.

The four let Arabella lead the way and watched with various expressions of bewilderment as she pushed a small round button, the two doors slid apart and she motioned for them to enter the small metal box. When the doors opened again, they were in a totally different room, an oddly empty long sickly green painted hallway. She led the way, pointing out the series of darker green arrows on the wall that showed the way to their destination.

The only other occupant of the room was an older woman with a kind face who was twisting and untwisting a linen handkerchief in her hands that looked up hopefully at the sound of the door opening. Her face fell as she realized it was not a doctor with news on her little Harry, and went back to twisting the poor now slightly frayed material in her sweaty nervous hands.

Albus nodded at the woman, calmness and trust radiating off the old wizard as he gently sat beside her, asking her who she was waiting for.

"A student of mine was gravely injured today. His parents are dead, and his aunt and uncle are at police headquarters, so I'm waiting for news. He shouldn't be alone, no child should be alone…" her voice trailed off at the end, losing volume as she spoke, fresh tears making her eyes glisten wetly in the glare of the harsh fluorescent lighting.

"Ah, Harry… can you tell us exactly what happened today?" Albus saw no reason to change the story he had told to the woman at the funny desk downstairs. "I am his grandfather," he pointed at Minerva, "his grandmother" and he waved at the other three, "his aunts and his uncle." He was unprepared for the irate, tongue lashing the woman unleashed upon him.

"Why was he left with those…those…_monsters _and their…_bullying little **fiend**_of a son if he had other family? How could you leave a defenseless child to that stifling…appalling and despicable…_family_!"

Luckily her tirade was cut short just when she was beginning to wind up, as the door opened and a very tired looking man entered. He was dressed in odd green cotton pajamas, his feet covered in large pale blue paper bags, an odd white paper mask hanging around his neck, the thin straps still tied behind his head. As he entered the room, looking around to find someone to speak with, he pulled a flat green hat off of his head, revealing short very black hair, that was beginning to streak with grey on the temples.

His voice tired with exhaustion, a cultured oriental accent overlaid his clipped proper English, "I'm Dr. Ito Wang. Who is here for Harry Potter?'

All six in the room stood up and gathered around, hope and fear clearly visible on every face. Minerva beat Albus in answering. "We all are. We are his grandparents, his aunts and uncle, and this is his teacher who witnessed the…_accident_." His mouth twisted with distaste as he said the last word.

The doctor nodded at the brief introductions and led them over to a set of couches and armchairs in a corner. He waited briefly for them all to sit before taking a breath and beginning to speak, his voice cautiously optimistic. "He made it through surgery. We were able to repair his ribs, lung and liver. We had to remove his spleen. It was bleeding profusely and just too damaged to repair. Dr. McGivney had to pin his right leg back together, it was almost crushed by the repeated blows from the stairs. His leg will have to remain pinned for several months at least, but it should heal fairly well eventually."

The six were still leaning forward; almost afraid to speak, to disturb the hope the doctor's words were giving them. "Dr. Becker, the neurologist, has been able to alleviate some of the brain swelling with medication, he doesn't think he will need to do brain surgery at this time, but he does have a fractured spine. Harry will have to wake up first before we can tell if he is paralyzed. The spinal cord doesn't appear to be severed, but it does evidence some swelling and that will have to reduce before we can even hazard a guess about nerve function."

Dr. Wang ran a hand over his short cropped hair and looked around at the stunned family, 'God how I hate this part of the job.' And it tore him apart when it was the family of a child, especially when the poor boy's injuries were caused by another member of his own family! He looked around the small group, making eye contact with each one, thinking absently that the boy had some really _strange_ relatives.

"Do you have any questions for me?" He offered quietly in the silent room.

One of the boy's aunts, an older, slightly plump and very officious sounding woman, perked up and began. "When will Harry wake up, and when can we see him?"

"We will be keeping him in a coma for several days so that we can keep him completely immobile and the swelling in his brain has a chance to decrease. Give us about half an hour and you can each come in to see him. He will be in intensive care just down the hall. The ICU doesn't have any set visiting hours; the nurses will ask you to leave when they need to do something but other than that he may have visitors almost all the time, but only two of you at a time. And I'm afraid the teacher will not be allowed in, family only."

The youngest women looked crestfallen at this news and the doctor relented a little. He took her hand between his and nodded at her, making a decision. "If you don't say anything, I will allow you to see him for a few moments when they transfer him from the recovery room to the ICU. I will have the nurse notify you by phone when they bring him out and down the hall. I'll tell them to stop for a moment and let you see him. I know my _words_ won't mean much until you can actually _see _him with your own eyes." He let go of her hands and stood, swaying slightly with tiredness. He looked at the other five. "I suspect we will be seeing a lot of each other in the weeks to come, I am too tired to remember names at this point so for now; may I call you 'Grandpa', 'Grandma', 'Aunt', 'Aunt', and 'Uncle' for a little while?" At their nods he crumpled the green hat in his hand and walked out the door, his paper shoes making little swishy noises as he walked.

It was a tense and silent group that waited on the uncomfortable, hard vinyl couches in the almost sterile waiting room, each watching the old fashioned black phone on the empty desk, wishing for it to ring.

* * *

Sirius followed the disappearing form of Remus as he moved through the crowded public room of the Three Broomsticks, pushing his way through the noisy patrons and out the door into the September twilight. Sirius caught up to his friend as he hurried down the streets of Hogsmeade, the last rays of the sun making long shadows that danced in the torch lights that were being lit for the rapidly coming night.

Walking too fast for conversation, the two wizards were panting slightly as they finally walked through the tall iron gates of Hogwarts and almost ran across the long green expanse of lawn toward the welcoming yellow lights of the ancient castle.

They finally reached the well worn white marble steps and climbed between the huge pair of stone gargoyles that protected the huge wooden doors of Hogwarts. Luckily it was not yet full dark and the doors were not locked tight so the two men pushed in with the last of the students entering from the grounds on their way to the Great Hall for dinner. Traveling sideways across the incoming tide, they fought their way through the swirling mass of students and began the long trek up to the Headmaster's office.

Sirius wanted to detour to the hospital wing and just abduct Poppy Pomfrey, but Remus insisted that she would be unable to leave the castle without the Headmaster's permission so they should just go to his office first to save time in the long run. Fidgeting at the slow pace they were making, Sirius considered just changing to Padfoot, but since he didn't know the password and would have to wait for Remus to catch up anyway he resisted, though it was a tough internal battle.

Just as they headed up the last flight of stairs they met tiny Professor Flitwick coming down the stairs for his own dinner. He stopped and greeted Remus warmly. "Remus Lupin, it's been a very long time since I've seen you. Can you join me for supper?" the tiny Charms professor almost glowed with happiness at seeing a former student. He turned to look at Remus' companion and dropped the large book he had been carrying to return to Madam Pince. "No, it can't be…they said you were **_dead_**…how…_Sirius Black_?" Sirius nodded his face still somber, something the Head of Ravenclaw house didn't think he'd ever seen on the young wizard ever before.

"What's wrong; is there anything I can do to help?' His voice squeaked as he looked between the two, his mood now as somber as the two men standing on the steps below him.

"Harry Potter has been gravely injured; we need to bring Poppy to him. We were on our way to tell the Headmaster." Sirius wasn't interested in idle chit chat and kept the explanation as short as possible.

Flitwick nodded his tiny head, his beard shaking as he spoke. "Yes, Albus informed me that Arabella Figg had notified them of the accident when he left me in charge of the castle. He, Minerva, Poppy and Severus have all gone to the Muggle hospital to see how they can help the poor boy. They left about three quarters of an hour ago, I believe."

Remus looked down at the old wizard, even though Flitwick was two steps up from them, he was still shorter than they were. "Is this 'Arabella Figg' on the floo network? Do you think we could use Albus' floo to get to her house? We have to get back to Harry as quickly as possible."

"Oh, yes, yes …follow me." Flitwick turned and led them up to the stone gargoyle, muttered "_Baby Ruth_" and climbed on the moving circular staircase. He removed the floo warding for the two and watched them disappear into the green flame, muttering a soft prayer to the gods and hoping the two were in time. He re-warded the floo and walked back down to supper, muttering to the universe at large about the injustice of the poor boy's tormented life.

Sirius led the way out the back door of Arabella's, recognizing the old woman's house as Harry's babysitter's. He grabbed Remus tightly and apperated the two of them into the small linen closet he had nicked the uniform coat from on his last visit to the hospital. He grabbed another long white coat, repeating his conjuring of the id badge before leading Moony out and over to the information desk. He asked the woman about the status of the Potter boy in his most officious tone and she answered without even looking at his face, the uniform granting all the permission she required.

"They'll be transferring him from the recovery room to ICU in about five minutes. He came through surgery, but he's still in a coma." She put the clipboard back into its slot and returned to the long line of injured and ill people waiting to check in. Sirius led Moony over to the elevators he had seen before and read the large black board with white letters to find out where they would need to go. "Third floor for both." He said as he pushed the button marked three and waited for the elevator to open, bouncing on his heels in impatience.

* * *

The tiny form barely made a bump in the cotton blanket draped over the gurney. His pasty white face was almost the same color as the sheets underneath him, the blue of the tube down his throat the only color as his unruly hair had been shaved and then covered completely with a large turban of bandages. A nurse walked beside the moving gurney, a large round bulb that she squeezed rhythmically forcing air in and out of the tiny chest. Four large bags, three clear and one full of blood hung from tall poles attached to both sides of the bed. A multitude of wires and tubes were attached to the small boy, a large blue box with bright green squiggles and numbers was lying on the end of the long bed, accentuating exactly how short their patient was. His right leg was propped up on pillows, six long pins stabbing through the swollen pink flesh holding the mangled thigh together so that it might heal. His torso was strapped tightly to a metal framework, keeping him completely still and unable to move, even if he hadn't been unconscious.

Without the steady beeping of the machine and the slight rhythmic movement of the white chest, they could be taking a corpse to the morgue, instead of a small five year-old to the intensive care unit. Glynnis Batiste, who would be his primary nurse in the ICU, pushed the bulb, keeping his breathing steady until they could reconnect him to a respirator in the ICU, uncomfortable thoughts about how this could be her own six year old daughter flitting across her mind as they slowly and carefully walked out the double doors of the recovery room on the way down the long green corridor to the ICU. A large group of people were standing waiting outside the doors to the surgical waiting room. She could see the anguish and pain grow as they could see the poor child clearer with each step they made nearer. They had almost reached the waiting group when the elevators opened and spit out another two men, both looking around frantically, stopping abruptly as they caught sight of the two orderlies pushing the gurney with her walking steadily beside it.

Sirius cried out, "**_Harry_**!" as he rushed forward, totally oblivious to the group now rushing quickly forward, the sound of his anguished cry breaking the stunned immobility that had surrounded the six at their first glimpse of the gurney and it's precious, fragile cargo.

Sirius had reached Harry in four rapid strides and grabbed a small hand, shuddering at the cold lifeless feel of the limp little hand gripped so tightly in his own. Unashamed tears trickled down his face, totally unnoticed as he took in the plethora of bandages, tubes and wires that surrounded his little pup. His breath caught in his throat, his heart pounding in his own ears, the world narrowing as he focused tightly on his boy to the exclusion of everyone and everything around him.

"**_Sirius Black!"_** issued from five different throats, in four different tones of astonishment and one hash voice spitting the name out in disgust. Remus pulled Albus, Minerva, Arabella and Severus aside and quickly explained in a few short, terse sentences all that he knew about his best friends sudden reappearance from the dead just that afternoon. Poppy was critically eyeing the small child in the bed with a professional air as Noelle Neely gingerly held the hand not gripped by Sirius and gazed down at the bright child that had been so full of life and love just a few short hours ago. Her cheeks wet with tears, she leaned over and whispered encouragement into the unhearing ear before finding a spot on the side of his forehead that was undamaged; she gave him a soft kiss before patting his bare shoulder and stepping back so the medical personnel could continue their journey to the intensive care unit that was at the end of the hallway.

Poppy quickly took the spot the teacher had reluctantly relinquished, so the orderlies began pushing the gurney again, the tiny form so light it almost seemed as if they pushed an empty bed. Sirius carefully kept ahead of the nurse pushing in and out of the bag, but his hand never let go of Harry's small one, Poppy's strong hand gripping Harry's other one.

The mediwitch was assessing her new patient as she walked beside the odd bed, her wand surreptitiously moving resolutely and well practiced under her sleeve as her other hand took notice of the weak pulse and the unnatural chill of the boy. She smiled as she felt the effect of her first few spells take hold, the pulse under her fingers strengthened and steadied. The first bloom of color began to appear in the pasty white cheeks as the warming and stabilizing spells took hold; she nodded at Albus as he rejoined the group, the four now walking beside the bed, even Severus Snape silent, his face white except for the ring of nauseated green around his tightly pursed lips. She glanced at the shocked face of Sirius as he walked in an unknowing daze on the other side of the bed. She surreptitiously evaluated him, realizing she would need to feed the distraught man several potions to calm and soothe him or he would be passing out soon from the shocks of the day.

As the muggle nurse continued with the in and out motion so necessary to support her patient's breathing she spoke up for the first time to the silent group that surrounded them like ghosts. "You'll have to wait in this room right here," she pointed with a chin, her hands still busy, "once we have him all hooked up and stable I'll call on the phone to tell you to come in, but only _two _at a time." She gave them a small smile of encouragement as the old man helped the slightly shock-y old woman with an arm around her shoulders into the ICU waiting room. The tall, dark and stiff man, his hands tightly clasped behind his back followed a tired and worn looking man into the messy room. She had to repeat her instructions to the stunningly handsome man that held onto Harry's hand like a lifeline, the plump and oddly professionally acting woman finally had to come around the bed and pry their hands apart before leading him into the waiting room, his head swiveled back to watch as they disappeared behind the double doors and into the noisy ward.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore stood alone in the corner of the waiting room, staring unseeing out the dirty window overlooking the parking lot, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. His thoughts churning with the acid churning deep in his gut. How had he been so _arrogant _to forget that it had been an innocent child he had been so heartlessly using? His self doubt growing he wondered exactly when he had begun to view Harry Potter, just an innocent small child, as nothing more than a _tool_ for his own use in the inevitable battle against Tom Riddle and his death eaters. Had his callous regard for a young boy made him just as evil in his own way as Tom was with his disregard for the inherent humanity of all creatures? How egotistical had he been to push aside the repeated warnings of Arabella, to blatantly disregard Lily and James' wishes regarding their newly orphaned son? His heart breaking at the remembered vision of the small broken body that had been subjected to years of mistreatment, denied the basic human right to loving caring guardians in his quest for power and prestige.

He stood a single tear sliding unnoticed into the long white beard, silently trying and condemning himself for multiple horrendous crimes against that small helpless child. He made a vow promising with his very magic to do everything within his power to _earn_ the right to ask the child for his forgiveness, and maybe, if enough time passed, he might even be able to begin to forgive himself. A new sense of resolve sweeping over the tired wizard, he turned back to his colleagues to begin righting his many wrongs. The first thing he must do would be to ask forgiveness from both Arabella and Minerva, then begin the process to secure total freedom for Sirius Black so that Harry would never set foot in that _thrice damned_ house ever again.

* * *

At the Greater Whinging Police station, things were not looking up in the stark white room with the bright overhead lights that beat down on the now sweating head of Vernon Dursley and his cowering wife. Just before Giles Newton, the plain clothed detective in charge of the Potter/Dursley investigation, had entered the interrogation room, the hospital had called with an update on the boy's condition and it didn't sound very good. He had survived surgery, but was in for long months of rehabilitation and painful therapy, and even then he might _never_ recover completely. In fact, the doctors weren't even sure if the child would ever be more than a vegetable. He shook his head in disgust as he contemplated how little he would be able to do to the _parents_ of that inhuman monster. It sickened him to think of the home life that forged and molded an innocent infant into a five year old sociopath! Unfortunately, Dudley Dursley wasn't the first such monster he had come across in his years of police work, but he was definitely the _youngest_ one.

Giles was called out to answer the phone, apparently the caller was the Potter boy's babysitter, and she wished to arrange an appointment in the next few days to discuss her knowledge of the boy's home life with him. As he reached for a notepad he noticed that somehow a thick cheap plastic notebook filled with meticulously neat handwriting that detailed a long and sickening pattern of abuse and neglect had appeared totally unnoticed. He had no idea who left it for him or even how it got here, but when he had opened it to find out what it was, his eyes had widened and an evil smile graced his formerly disgusted face. He _knew_ that the two miserable excuses for humans in the interrogation room had to be responsible for the behavior of that demon child now detained at the children's ward of Surrey Psychiatric Hospital, but _proving it_ was going to be very difficult if not impossible before the mysterious appearance of the notebook. He turned the pages of the thick black notebook, its much used pages full of notes and photos. As he reread the first page in more detail, his heart began to beat faster, with each successive page; an evil smile grew until his face almost glowed with happiness. Dates, incidents and documentation of injuries, complete with Polaroid photos going back _years_ were included! Transcripts of conversations between the unknown informant and little Harry were included, starting from just two years of age.

As he hung up the phone, he reached into his coat pocket to find another pen only to find something else in his pocket that he hadn't noticed before, a strange weight that had just seemed to appear like magic in a pocket he had thought empty except for the ball point pens he always carried in it. He tentatively reached in one hand, almost afraid of what he would find. He pulled out three small black cassette tapes and read the labels; 'Conversations with Harry about the Dursleys'. One cassette was dated from January 1982-March 1982; the next covered from April to December of the same year and the last cassette covered 1983 to 1985.

Several coworkers looked up as Giles Newton threw back his head and laughed a deep belly laugh that echoed through the normally tense police station. Notebook clutched tightly in his hand, he left his desk and strode purposefully and resolutely back into the interrogation room. He smirked as he pulled open the heavy door, _he had those bastards_!

* * *

Albus' eyes twinkled for the first time that afternoon as he re-entered the room from his recent apparitions. Arabella hang up the phone in the waiting room. She nodded to him; a small smile graced her haggard face as she acknowledged his successful delivery of her much hated notebook and tapes to the police. He wrapped a long arm around the squib and the two moved over to join the very technical and often confusing discussion between the mediwitch and the potion's master. Remus was listening to the two, his head turning back and forth like a spectator at a Quidditch match, his arm around Sirius' shoulder, silently supporting the anguished man who was so deep in his own miserable thoughts that he wouldn't notice an outburst of Filibuster's at the moment. Poppy had forced a calming draught down his throat followed by a couple general purpose healing potions, but Sirius was still morose and almost non responsive.

"An Ignac nerve potion would reduce the spinal cord swelling adequately, Poppy, with perhaps a Soliz potion to repair the cord if it is damaged preceded by a healing draft laced with crushed bezoars to flush out any…_toxic_…muggle medications within his system."

"That would be fine in a _normally healthy adult_, Severus, but Harry is a very small five year old in critical condition. I do agree we need to begin by flushing his system with a bezoar solution; I even brought one with me. But the spinal cord swelling isn't his only injury and those potions are _both_ much too strong for a child! We will need a series of swelling reducers in increasing strength over several days until we can reach a healing dose, otherwise the shock to his delicate system would kill him. But we have to heal his multiple fractures _first_, specifically his vertebrae and ribs, his leg is bad but even if it heals badly we could remove the femur and then re-grow it. It would be very painful, but we could keep him asleep during the worst of it. Unfortunately we can't use Skele-grow, he's definitely not yet ten."

"Well then how about the basic dorsum offa potion, that would reduce spinal swelling and it is safe even for infants." Severus countered. "It might also help some with the brain swelling."

Poppy nodded her head thoughtfully, "Yes, that would work…especially in conjuncture with the cerebrum healing spells I have already begun to cast. I could not completely heal his brain, it would be too suspicious to the muggles, but I did reduce the fluid buildup enough that he is no longer in danger of brain damage."

Albus and Arabella had rejoined the group, entering their privacy shield just in time to hear the end of the conversation. "And how is Harry now, Poppy? How soon will he be stable enough to transport to Hogwarts?"

Poppy looked up at the large round clock on the wall. "It's after eleven now, depending upon when they grant access so that Severus and I can administer some potions and spells, he should be stable enough by eight tomorrow morning to portkey to the hospital wing."

Remus looked tiredly up at the old wizard, "How are you going to cover his disappearance, Albus?"

Albus sat down beside Sirius, looking the younger man up and down with a critical eye. "Well, the muggles are not yet sure that young Harry will survive…so we shall simply make them believe that he did not. I am certain it will be believed with a few _modifications_ of the hospital staff's memories and a few judicious changes to the records. Then his distraught relatives will simply have claimed the body and no one shall be any the wiser."

He reached a hand out and lifted Sirius' chin so the oblivious man had to look him in the face. Albus waited for recognition to reach the oddly soft grey eyes before he spoke again. "Sirius, we need to get you cleared quickly so that you may take formal guardianship of Harry. It wouldn't do to have the ministry grab custody of the boy." Sirius' already white face paled even impossibly more as the Headmaster's words penetrated the thick fog surrounding his mind. He looked around in astonishment, not recognizing where he was. "Harry, where's Harry? How is he…I need to see him…." He started to stand up but was held down by the warm weight of Remus' arm across his shoulder.

Albus patted his knee and turned to raise an eyebrow in question to the two healers. Severus shrugged noncommittally and Poppy answered his unasked question. "I was able to cast several stabilizing spells unnoticed as we walked down the hallway. His heart is beating stronger; his breathing should be growing stronger with each minute. I reduced the swelling on his brain by siphoning off some of the fluid, but I couldn't do too much without the muggles taking note. Severus and I have the necessary potions to completely stabilize him by morning, but we need to get to him. After we take him to Hogwarts it will be at least a week to ten days before he will be up and around, and he may need some exercises for a few weeks to regain the strength in his back and leg as well as several months of strengthening and nourishment potions, but I saw nothing that cannot be healed. Though it will be tricky removing all of those…_things_…the muggles inserted into his body!" She looked rather disgusted at the thought of the surgical repair of the boy's ribs and leg, "**_Barbaric muggle medicine_**!" She spit out in anger.

* * *

Giles sat down opposite the tired and sweaty Dursleys and plopped the thick notebook down on the scarred and dirty wooden table. He opened the first page of the book and looked at the two _slugs _opposite him. "Your nephew was orphaned on Halloween night, 1981 and came to you the next day, correct?" He glanced at the two as they both nodded, wondering why this question.

"Do you know that there is no record of a Harry Potter ever being _born_ in England? And no death certificates in the system for anyone named Potter anywhere near that date? Who exactly is the boy and _where did you get him_?" Petunia Dursley slumped down in her chair, the fat arms of her oddly purple faced husband the only thing catching her before her face slammed into the table in front of her. Vernon clamped his thick lips tightly shut; only opening them long enough to demand his solicitor immediately! Giles nodded at the uniformed policeman standing guard at the door and a phone was brought over to the man where he was gently patting his wife's face trying unsuccessfully to rouse her from her faint. After a few moments of unsuccessful patting, Vernon laid Petunia's face down on the dirty table top and reached for the phone, his fat fingers pulling out an overstuffed wallet as he began to search for his solicitor's card.

* * *

After a very long, and interminable wait, that was actually just another thirty minutes, the phone on the cluttered desk rang and Sirius leaped up to grab it, answering "Hello?" with a note of hope in his voice. A disembodied voice at the other end informed him that Harry Potter was now stabilized enough that he would be allowed just two visitors. Sirius looked back at the others, knowing that he could not _do_ as much for Harry as Severus and Poppy and yet _needing_ to see his boy. With an unreadable expression Severus Snape ducked his head, giving the hopeful man permission to take his place. Snape stopped Poppy with a hand to her shoulder, "Send Black out if you need me." She patted the hand on her shoulder and acquiesced with a silent nod.

Sirius unexpectedly grabbed Snape's hand and shook it in gratitude, "Thank you, Snape…I won't forget all that you are doing…and I'm sorry…for our…past…you know…" He waited only a moment before turning and rushing to catch up to Poppy as the doors to the ICU swished open at the touch of Poppy's hand on the large square button.

* * *

Dudley lay awake staring up at the boring white ceiling over his head. The tiny room the weird people had put him in after a skimpy tasteless meal had nothing but a single metal bed with a thin mattress and a small dresser on the opposite wall. A nightstand with a single small drawer was the end of the furniture and there were no good toys, none of his own possessions, just a couple of stupid books and a box of dumb plastic blocks in a plastic bin stuffed on the floor under the nightstand. He turned to the wall, pounding his fist rhythmically against the plaster wall. 'Dumb people, why didn't they take me home? So what if the stupid poop-y brat hurt himself. Mum and Dad didn't make such a fuss when I pushed the freak down the stairs before. I want to go home; I want to go home…" The mantra soothed Dudley until he fell into a sound sleep, his mind guilt free and peaceful once again.

* * *

Harry didn't look nearly as pasty white as he had in the corridor. When Poppy and Sirius quietly entered the glass fronted room to find him, Glynnis smiled at the two and introduced herself. "I'm Glynnis and I will be Harry's primary nurse here. He's doing much better than anyone expected. His pulse and breathing have stabilized significantly since leaving surgery. The swelling on his brain is decreasing and his feet are warming up, which is a good sign that the swelling in his spine is beginning to ease. The doctors just left him, and they said to tell you that they are 'cautiously optimistic' about Harry's recovery, although he is still in critical condition." She smiled encouragingly at the man and woman who had each grabbed one of Harry's hands.

Sirius looked up, the fog that had surrounded his mind clearing as he took in the slightly healthier look of his precious boy; Harry no longer looked dead. "I'm Sirius Black. Harry is my godson, his parents are both dead. He will be living with me as soon as we can legally get him away from the _Dursleys_." He spat the name with venom, turning his gaze back to the small boy on the big bed.

Poppy reached a hand out to the woman. "My name is Poppy Pomfrey and I am a general practitioner as well as Harry's aunt. I will be assuming Harry's care once he leaves hospital and comes home. Can you tell me exactly what has been done?" She had acted as liaison between many injured muggle born Hogwarts students during the summer months and muggle medicine over the years and knew that her title of Healer would translate to the muggle word practitioner or Doctor. Many parents wished their children to be taken back to Hogwarts after being injured rather than leaving them in muggle hospitals and it was part of her job to make any arrangements for the transfers.

Glynnis sighed at the woman's professional manner. She was relieved to have someone who would understand her explanations, most families were either too shocked to listen or just didn't understand enough medical jargon to comprehend that even though their loved one looked terrible it might not be as bad as it seemed. She sighed ruefully; of course sometimes it was that bad or even worse, but it appeared that Harry would survive, especially with the unexpected lessoning of his symptoms in the last half hour.

Glynnis pulled Poppy over to the side of the room, leaving the man, 'Sirius?' with his godson. She spoke softly but clearly to the Doctor. "The swelling on his brain and spine have both significantly decreased in the last few minutes and the numbers are still going down steadily. He had three ribs that needed to be wired, as well as the six pins you can see in his right femur. Blood pressure, oxygen levels, heart rate and brain activity are both stabilizing. If he continues to improve at the current rate, we should be able to wean him from the respirator in the next couple of days and the doctors were talking about waking him up a day or two after that if he remains stable." Poppy smiled at the bright young nurse and thanked her for her update before firmly dismissing her from the room so that she could visit with her 'nephew', promising the young woman she would call her if she was needed.

As soon as the muggle left the room, Poppy pulled the curtain on the large windows enough to shield her from view and began casting privacy and notice me not charms. Sirius noticed what she was doing and took over the job of warding the room so that Poppy could turn her attention to Harry. She opened her large leather bag on the end of the bed and pulled several large flagons of various colored potions out, as well as several large spoons. She checked Sirius' progress with the spells and called him to help her, satisfied with his efforts. "Sirius, leave off and come help me get these down him. The sooner he takes them, the sooner we can get out of here!"

With precise wand movements, she magic-ked the breathing tube out of his mouth, having Sirius lift his shoulders as the boy gagged reflexively. Another series of spells had his chest rising and falling with greater strength and the color returning to the pale skin. She nodded in satisfaction and picked up the first flagon, measuring a large spoonful; she had Sirius tip Harry's head back and dribbled the first of many healing potions down his slack throat. It seemed she would never run out of potions, but eventually she replaced the last one in her large satchel, cast several more healing spells, shuddered in disgust at the sight of the large metal pins sticking up through the small thigh and left the room, promising Sirius she would return with everyone else.

The nurses at the large busy desk in the center of the open ward never noticed her as she walked out of the double doors and returned shortly followed by four more people. The five entered the large room that housed Harry and all of his equipment without anyone even noticing. Remus surged forward; smiling at the peaceful look now on the much improved child, Harry now looked as if he was just sleeping, that is, if you didn't look down at the mangled flesh of his thigh.

Severus stared at the boy's leg, the sight of the long pins piercing the flesh and the angry red of the surgical incisions that marred both the leg and the chest and abdomen of the pale child making him green as he remembered old visions of the muggles he had been forced to watch being tortured at death eater meetings. He had been able to convince the dark lord that murdering, raping and even torturing would taint his magic so that he would be unable to successfully brew even the most simple of healing draughts ever again and since most death eaters needed his healing potions on a semi regular basis he had been spared having to _actively participate_ in the barbarities, but he had not been spared having to _watch_ them on way too many occasions. And the sight of the angry red incisions made him flash back to those awful times. As he wrenched his mind forward he felt a surge of gratitude to the small wizard lying so still on the big bed for having banished the evil that had enslaved him. He knew that the dark lord wasn't dead, his dark mark had faded to almost nothing, but it was still there and if the wizard that had branded him was actually dead, all of his spells would have disappeared completely.

Severus Snape had an epiphany at that moment. He might hate 'James Potter' to his dying day, but his sacrifice and the unexplainable survival of 'Harry Potter', the seed of his enemy's loins, had _freed_ Severus in a way that he would _never_ be able to repay. No matter how short or how long it took for the dark lord to return, the child lying before him had freed him at a huge cost to himself. Severus silently vowed at that moment to do everything in his power to keep the child safe and to help him in any way that he could, to prepare for the battle that he knew would come sometime in the future. He sighed as he watched Black and Lupin talking to the boy, consciously letting go of his deep seated anger and hatred at the two for the misery and humiliation they had caused him. If it meant tolerating and even forgiving the two men before him to help the boy recover, he mentally gave a wizards oath to do so.

* * *

AN: No Snape will not instantly be a nice guy, or even very much a part of this story, but he has had much less time to forget the horrors of the dark lord and he has not had as long a time to build a wall of hatred. Also the sight of Harry, who at the moment looks so vulnerable and helpless, totally different from James Potter, has forced Snape to realize that they are two totally different people. The next chapter will have Harry moved to the Hospital wing at Hogwarts and waking up as well as the formal vindication of Sirius' innocence and being granted guardianship of Harry, plus more Dursley troubles! Thank you for reading and reviewing, I appreciate the support.

AN: By the way, sociopathic children are not as unusual as you might suspect. Information on both hyper-aggressive and sociopathic preschoolers is available on the web.

Personal note: My youngest daughter had a total of twenty-seven surgeries before she died at the age of 22. During one long stint in the surgical waiting room, we used my daily planners to figure out that she had spent a grand total of more than six and a half years as an inpatient at various hospitals. And I suspect I was apart from her less than thirty days total during that time so I am very familiar with hospitals. Luckily we had a live in grandma for the other children and my husband was very supportive, telling more than one doctor that my 'job' was to be with our daughter. She was not hospitalized until she was almost three so her siblings were ages eight and twelve when our long trial began.


	6. Chapter 6: Healing Harry

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: This is a piece of FAN fiction, with heavy emphasis on the FAN, therefore by definition, I own nothing; but I do like to play with the wonderful Ms. Rowling's characters by saying 'what if' and going from there.

AN: This is my sandbox, if you don't like my writing or the way my characters develop over the story, then simply DON"T READ. They have a nifty little button on both the top and the bottom of the page that says 'back'. That said, thank you so much for those who have offered support and encouragement. Enjoy the next installment.

Chapter 6: Healing Harry

With Severus in the room, Sirius stood back a little and watched as the two professionals went quickly about the business of stabilizing and beginning to heal his godson. Albus had stepped out of the room to begin the painstakingly precise process of modifying memories and modifying records.

Remus and Arabella stood to either side of Sirius, offering silent support as they all watched Severus and Poppy casting spells, checking results and whispering conferences in barely understandable English. With a final complicated wand movement, Poppy sagged, her magic and body both exhausted by her efforts. Severus reached into her leather bag and pulled out a replenishment potion designed specifically for those suffering from magical exhaustion and handed it silently to his colleague with an oversized spoon. After she had dosed herself, she stood up a little straighter and handed it to Severus. He looked at it with distaste before tipping the flagon up and swallowing a large amount himself. A little color came back to his almost transparent skin.

Everyone turned to look at a very tired Albus Dumbledore as he walked slowly and almost painfully into the crowded room, a soft smile of satisfaction on his face, his tiredness accentuating the true age of the old wizard. "It's done. Poor little Harry succumbed to his injuries just after two this morning. His distraught relatives were with him at his passing and have already made arrangements for his body. I shall contact the McMullen and Laurel funeral home later today after I manage some sleep and there will be a public funeral and service for the child in three days. There are too many people who know of the accident for him to just _disappear_. And it would not do for the _Dursleys_ to escape punishment simply because there is no body." His smile was now reflected upon every face in the room, even Snape's.

He looked around at the tired group, walking over to grasp Harry's now much warmer hand in his. "Poppy, is he ready to come home to Hogwarts?"

She nodded, still too tired to make the effort to speak. Dumbledore grabbed a plastic bedpan and pulled his wand. With a circular motion and a whispered '_portus_' the bedpan glowed softly blue for a moment before the spell faded. Sirius came forward and gingerly picked up Harry, being very careful not to bang the leg with the disgusting pins still horribly present. Remus and Snape encircled him, each holding the two between them so they were protecting the child with their own bodies. Minerva and Poppy made a second circle around the trio holding the child and then Albus placed the bedpan on Harry's chest, wrapping his long arms around Minerva on one side and Poppy on the other and simply said, "Home." A flash of light, totally unnoticed by the still slightly muddled nurses and the ICU room was empty, the rumpled bedding, bloody bandages, used I.V. poles and tubing, and the discarded respirator apparatus the only evidence of a small child's frantic battle for life.

Glynnis pulled the metal chart to her as she finished the all too familiar paperwork, a small tear appearing unnoticed at the corner of her eye. She hated it when a child died, it all seemed so _pointless_, but she knew that she would continue, that for every child they lost they saved a lot more. She knew she would cling to her own six year old, not letting her out of her sight and making sure her daughter knew how much she loved her until, in total frustration; Marybeth would push her away.

She looked up at the clock, just two short hours since little Harry had passed away, his family quietly by his side as his little heart gave out, just too weak to keep beating with all of the boy's injuries. She looked up at the elevator that she knew had closed just a few moments ago and marked down that the McMullen and Laurel Funeral Home had just taken custody of the body. She had recommended them way too many times to distraught relatives after the wonderful way they had handled her own husband's funeral after he had died fighting in Iraq. She made a note to ask for the afternoon off when Harry Potter was laid to rest, she didn't usually get so emotionally attached to her patients, especially when she had cared for them for such a short time, but something about the boy and his relatives made her want to attend, and perhaps…just perhaps…offer a little comfort to the strikingly handsome man with the soft dove grey eyes.

* * *

The strange group appeared with a flash of light and a whoosh of sound in the middle of the hospital wing, everyone grateful for the support of everyone else as they landed. The outer three peeled off of the group, then Severus let go of Remus' and Sirius' waists and stood back, his familiar mask falling tiredly into place over his face. Remus kept one arm around Sirius' waist and his other arm under Harry's damaged right leg, helping Sirius walk slowly over to the bed that Poppy was quickly preparing for the boy. She conjured several large fluffy pillows for his leg and helped the two men position the child before pulling up a warm blanket, flicking a soft warming charm on it as she tucked it up under his chin. She motioned for Sirius to sit on the next bed and walked tiredly, her normal brisk walk reduced to a slow shuffle, over to her potions cabinet, grabbing a general restorative and a calming draught that she forced Sirius to take. As soon as the potions hit his empty stomach, Sirius slumped over with Remus catching his friend and putting him to bed, much as Poppy just had Harry.

Albus pulled Remus and Arabella to the side and called a house elf to take them to guest quarters. "You two are welcome to stay here until Harry is better, but for now I believe we all need some sleep." He looked at the large clock positioned over the double infirmary doors. He sighed as he realized how few hours he would be able to sleep before he needed to be back at the head table for breakfast duty. "It's almost four a.m. now. I will have to be at breakfast at eight, but there is no reason for you to be up. Just call for a house elf when you awaken and I will talk to you after you've eaten. Arabella, I will need your help with the Muggle authorities and you have the meeting with the detective at two p.m. is that correct?"

She nodded, her thoughts now centered on getting some sleep now that her Harry was so much better and safely at Hogwarts. She had been so afraid that they would be attending his funeral for _real_ just a few short hours ago. She turned and followed Remus and the little bouncy elf as it led them to quarters only a few doors from the hospital. Remus muttered a sleepy goodnight at his own door, and they separated, exhausted but finally hopeful to sleep.

* * *

Vernon had finally managed to find his solicitor's card after a long search through the many items stuffed into his fat wallet, but the man had taken an inordinately long time coming down to the station. It was just past two in the morning by the time the man showed up, hastily dressed in casual slacks and a turtleneck jumper. He had spent quite a long time with that _blasted detective_ before even entering the room to talk with his clients.

"Vernon, I've got the basics from Detective Newton, now I'd like to hear the story from you, and I must insist that you tell me the _truth_ and the _whole _truth. It is not my job to judge you, but I must know everything or I will be unable to properly represent you and make the best deal that I am able. I am afraid after hearing of the mountain of evidence against both you and your wife; I will not be able to completely vindicate either of you."

Vernon and Petunia both looked up at Granville Heeder, their momentary looks of hope dying at the man's harsh words. "But… but…but…" Vernon could only splutter at his solicitor, disbelief clearly written upon his porcine face.

Granville sat down in the uncomfortable straight backed chair opposite his clients and began to explain the facts of life to the two. He had dealt with the bullying man only once before against allegations from his secretary that had claimed verbal abuse and sexual harassment against the large man and he had been able to clear him of the charges but, he strongly suspected, only because of a severe lack of concrete evidence. The case had quickly devolved into a case of 'he said, she said' and it had been summarily dismissed. Granville hid his disgust at the couple sitting in front of him as he calmly began explaining the iron clad case against the two sitting so stunned.

"First, there is the fact that the police have a notebook full of precise dates and descriptions going back to a few months after you took possession of your alleged '_nephew_', complete with _photographs_ and _taped conversations_ between the child and his babysitter about how exactly he received each and every bruise and cut. They begin long before the child knew how to lie about what happened and by the time he was old enough to understand that you might not want him to talk about them, his sitter had established a pattern of trust and truth so that he continued."

"Second there is the fact that the birth certificate you supplied to enroll the boy in school comes from some fictitious hospital called _St. Mungo's_, there is only your word that the boy is in fact your 'nephew' and the fact that there is no record anywhere of a James and Lily Potter having died at any time. There is no record anywhere of a James Potter, and the records of your sister Lily Evans mysteriously cease to exist after the age of eleven, Petunia."

"Third, your son has repeatedly told the child psychologist and the social worker assigned to his case that you not only _didn't_ discipline him for abusing his 'cousin' including an early incident when he pushed him down the stairs, but you actually _encouraged_ and even **_rewarded him_** for such behavior!"

Petunia turned whiter and whiter as each fact was stated so matter of fact, while Vernon just turned darker and darker purple until Granville was afraid the obese man opposite him might explode.

Before the Dursleys could recover enough to try to explain their side of the story, the door opened and a very grim faced Detective Newton entered and stood beside Granville. He watched the faces of the two opposite him as he told them about the call he had just received. "The hospital just called. Your 'nephew' 'Harry Potter' died of his injuries at 2:06 this morning. The charges are being upped to child abuse in the first degree as well as criminal neglect and the prosecutor is adding on kidnapping if you can't come up with better proof that he really was your nephew and that you had legal custody of the child."

He looked at Granville, feeling sorry for the solicitor that was defending the two pieces of human debris that had made the poor little boy's short life a nightmare. "We're searching the databases to find any missing boys of the right age and description. Considering the child's small stature, he might be as much as six months younger. I have a meeting this afternoon with the boy's babysitter, and then I'll be contacting the child's teacher after that." He nodded at the solicitor, sorry for the man's impossible task, as he left the squad room, headed home for some much needed sleep before meeting the sitter.

* * *

Harry was floating in a white mist, hearing murmurs of people talking all around him but not clearly enough to understand anything being said. He vaguely remembered the terror he had felt when Dudley pushed him down the stairs and then flashes of excruciating pain, but now he just floated. He finally recognized the deep rumble of Padfoot's voice and smiled softly, letting go back into the comfortable warm darkness, knowing he was safe.

* * *

Sirius woke up to the agonizingly familiar smell and the bright sunlight of the hospital wing, wondering for a brief moment how in Merlin's name did he get here before the horrendous events of the previous day came crashing down into his consciousness. He sat up suddenly, throwing off the white blankets and swinging his legs around to stand up before his eyes were fully open. He heard soft chuckles off to the side, vaguely recognizing both Remus and Albus Dumbledore's laughs but he paid them no attention, intent upon the two steps it took to reach his pup's side. He reached a hand down to cup the soft cheek; glad that the barbaric tube was no longer down the small throat and that the cheeks were turning pink with slowly returning health. He smiled as he ran his head up and over the fine fuzz that was all that remained of the trademark messy Potter black hair. "Well, that's one way to keep it neat, I suppose. But Lily would have fits to see her boy's hair gone."

Remus had come up beside his friend and lightly touched him on the shoulder, afraid that his friend would disappear and his miraculous return from the dead yesterday would turn out to be only a particularly vivid nightmare.

"That she would Paddy. But James would think it 'wicked' if it gave him one more ounce of speed at Quidditch." The two friends both laughed as they realized the truth of the comment.

Albus cleared his throat softly, drawing the attention of the two wizards that were now minutely inspecting Harry's body for signs of improvement. "I am sorry Sirius, but I have arranged for Madame Bones of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement to bring a couple of aurors and some Veritaserum to my office in thirty minutes so that you can formally clear your name. I assume you are willing to submit to the potion? It would be the fastest way since they have been unable to verify that Pettigrew lives any other means."

Sirius nodded, reluctant to leave Harry's side, even to gain his own freedom. "Go Paddy, I'll keep him safe for you. Remember you can't get custody of him from the Dursleys until you are officially cleared." At the reminder from Remus, Sirius turned and walked resolutely out the doors, determined to clear his name and give Harry the real home the boy deserved.

* * *

Severus Snape stalked through the corridors of Hogwarts, glaring darkly at any student stupid enough to cross his path, heading resolutely toward the hospital wing. He _didn't know_ why he felt compelled to visit the boy; he couldn't explain it, even to himself. He couldn't actually _care _one way or the other if the boy had survived the night, could he? No it was just professional curiosity, that and he needed to know the exact strength of the potions that Poppy would need to administer to the boy for his full recovery. He remembered her discussing it with him in that horribly disgusting muggle 'waiting room' late last night as they waited to be able to tend to the child.

He gave an involuntary shudder as he remembered the oozing red of the bandages, the smell of warm blood, the almost palpable aura of fear and pain that had permeated the small room and gave a silent thank you for the banishment of the dark lord once again. He had thankfully been too tired to have a nightmare last night, but he knew they would be recurring for quite some time after the experiences of yesterday had dredged up so many of his old repressed memories.

He stopped for a moment, one hand on the door to the hospital wing, schooling his features into a blank mask of non emotion before pushing the door open.

* * *

Dudley had been rudely awakened by a loud bell at 6:30 in the morning. A white clad orderly had unlocked his door and stood there watching as he dressed and made his bed, something he had never even attempted before, that was the _freaks _job, not his! He was ordered to bring the miserable, threadbare hospital pajamas he had worn the day before out to a large white linen container and then made to line up with a group of mostly older boys and girls, all of them dressed in the same, washed out blue pajama things that he had been given to wear.

The silent group was marched in their stocking clad feet down to a large dining hall where they sat, six to a table waiting for breakfast to be served. Each table was called up, given a plastic tray with a plastic fork and spoon on the side. They were allowed to choose a cardboard box of juice, milk or chocolate milk before being escorted back to their table and allowed to eat the tasteless eggs with a single strip of greasy bacon and a plastic bowl of lumpy oatmeal. Dudley put both packets of sugar and the single little square of butter on his tray into his oatmeal and stirred it, wondering once more just how much longer he would have to stay here. He knew... he just _knew_ that his father was screaming for his release right now.

As he dumped his trash in a large lined barrel and placed the used tray on a tall stack of other trays he planned his revenge against the _miserable little freak_ that had caused all of this mess. And all through the long day of endless people talking with and to him, he stewed, his anger growing more and more as the day passed endlessly.

* * *

Petunia woke up in the female holding cell she had finally been placed in last night after a barely remembered visit to the night judge who had almost yawned as he listened to the charges against her and then with a bored attitude sent her here to await trial without bail. She supposed Vernon was in another cell much like hers somewhere in this large depressing building, but she couldn't dredge up enough energy to even care at the moment. Their life had been picture perfect, the ideal 'normal' family just yesterday morning and now she was in a waking _hell_, her child was in some **_mental hospital_**, her nephew had died alone without anyone with him, and her husband was in his own cell.

She sat down on the thin mattress, pulled the flat pillow against her stomach, drew her knees up and rocked, her teeth picking at one short nail as she crooned a tuneless noise without words.

* * *

Arabella woke to an unwelcome shaft of sunlight hitting her right in the face, lying peacefully in bed before dragging herself up and into the shower. She skipped breakfast, noting it was already 10:30 and wanting to see Harry before she worried about eating anything. She quickly found her way back to the large double doors and pushed them open, her feet making no noise on the worn stone floor of the huge castle. She walked up to where Remus was sitting in a chair beside the head of Harry's bed, softly rubbing the shaved bald head as he talked softly to the sleeping boy, his smooth baritone calming and soothing.

She noticed that Severus Snape and Poppy Pomfrey were talking animatedly a short distance away, she could see their lips moving but heard noting, so she assumed they were under a privacy spell of some kind. "How is he this morning? And where's Sirius? I expected him to be hovering right beside Harry. I though it would take a dragon to haul him away from the child's side." She smiled softly down at the boy, pleased to see how much healthier he looked after just a few hours of magical potions and healing.

Remus looked up startled, "Didn't hear you walk up, Bella. Sirius is upstairs in Albus' office meeting with the ministry to clear his name and file for guardianship of Harry. Otherwise he would be here. I think he was at Harry's side before his eyes were even fully open this morning!" He chuckled softly at the memory.

Severus and Poppy must have finished their discussion because the two healers now walked over to the bed with their patient. Luckily the rest of the ward had been empty when Poppy had been called away to tend to Harry. "He's much better this morning, and in fact he might wake up for short periods beginning as early as tonight or tomorrow morning. Severus will begin brewing a specialized titrated nerve healing potion as soon as he leaves here today. We have determined his thigh is too badly crushed to heal properly so I will be removing the bone and he'll have to re-grow it. Unfortunately he's much too young for Skele-grow so the re-growth will take several days rather than overnight. I can make sure he is asleep for most of it and adequately dosed with pain potions for when he is awake, but he will be mostly asleep for the next week as his injuries heal anyway, so this is a good time to fix his leg."

Poppy drew a curtain around the bed after banishing both Bella and Remus out of the ward for the next thirty minutes; she wanted no unnecessary witness to what she would have to do next to the poor boy. She motioned to Severus to grasp Harry's ankle and hold his leg up off the pillows as she pulled out her wand from her apron pocket. When Severus nodded that he had firm hold of the small foot Poppy incanted, "_Femur Eximo_" and Harry's leg fell limp, the bone from his hip to his knee gone, the six pins now hanging lopsided and obscene, blood beginning to ooze out around the bizarre metal staples holding the gaping wound closed. Severus swallowed down the bile that threatened to spew even with his lips clamped tightly shut. Poppy glanced down at him, making sure he was still holding Harry's ankle securely. "Hang on, Severus it won't take but a few moments now." She encouraged him, noticing the decidedly green cast to the man's face.

She carefully but firmly grasped the first pin and pulled it hard, a loud slurping noise sounded as she pulled it free from the wound, dropping it to the floor with a bloody clunk as she grabbed her wand and stopped the bleeding. She repeated the same procedure for the remaining five pins, the trembling of Harry's leg as Severus held it the only sign that the wizard was being adversely affected by the sights, sounds and smells assaulting him. He said not a single word, or gave another sign that the removal of the pins was affecting him so badly.

The last pin hit the floor with a splat of blood and the bleeding of the last hole was quickly stopped before Poppy began removing the multitude of shiny stainless steel staples, luckily these could be removed with repeated wand flicks and made no further sickening noises or Poppy was afraid the Severus would have passed out.

Poppy pulled the gaping wound apart, filling the space with a sterilizing and healing potion before carefully closing the incision and spelling it closed; a thin red line the only remainder of the horrific wound. She liberally slathered the skin with scar reducer and bound Harry's whole leg in a thick white bandage before motioning for Severus to return Harry's foot to the stack of pillows, thankfully finished with the appalling job.

She motioned Severus to a chair beside Harry's bed before pulling up another chair and sitting down beside the obviously shaken potions master. A quick snap of her fingers and an obligingly helpful elf provided them with strong tea and a small plate of hot scones. The two talked softly, each watching the small boy, their inconsequential conversation allowing the two to recover their composure and prepare to continue their work.

* * *

Albus led a hesitant Sirius Black up the circular staircase to his office. It had only been yesterday afternoon, during the mind numbingly catastrophe of Harry's injury that Sirius had even heard that he wasn't a wanted fugitive and he really hadn't had any time to even begin to comprehend that information with everything else that had happened. His face and eyes lost their life as he dreaded the upcoming meeting, firmly convinced he would be returning to Azkaban before the day was done, no matter what everyone else had tried to tell him.

His heart in his shoes, he followed Albus into his office with all the enthusiasm of a man walking to his own beheading. He squared his shoulders; it had been worth it, even the kiss because he had _saved_ his Harry. He knew when he made his decision to seek out Remus for help, that this was the likely outcome, so he lifted his head and proudly stood still, waiting for his arrest.

He refused to show any emotion as Madame Bones walked toward him, but he stared uncomprehendingly as she grabbed his hand and shook it heartily. He was so dazed he didn't understand a word of what the woman was saying to him, but he allowed her to sit him down into a chair and obediently opened his mouth without protest when she asked him to. A young red clad male auror stepped forward and carefully dropped three drops of the clear liquid on Black's tongue, nodding to his boss when he noticed Black's eyes glaze over and his mouth relax into slack mindlessness.

Amelia Bones pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Sirius Black, so that she was face to face with him. She unconsciously ran her hands down either side of her red auror robes and began the questioning.

"Full name?"

"Sirius Orion Black."

"Were you the Secret Keeper for James and Lily Potter?"

"No."

"Who was?"

"Peter Aloysius Pettigrew."

"Did you kill Peter Pettigrew?"

"No."

"Is Peter Pettigrew alive?"

"Yes, as far as I know."

"Did you blow up the street and kill all those muggles?"

"No."

"Who did?"

"Peter Aloysius Pettigrew."

"How did Pettigrew escape?"

"He is an animagus; his form is a rat. He transformed and fled down the sewer after blowing up the street."

"How did you escape Azkaban?"

"I turned into my animagus form and squeezed through the bars."

"You are an unregistered animagus?"

"Yes, a grim like black dog."

Amelia looked up at the others around her and raised an eyebrow, asking if she had missed anything in her questioning.

Albus stepped forward and asked softly.

"Why did you escape?"

"I needed to check up on Harry, I had a bad feeling about him."

"How long have you been protecting Harry? And how?"

"I have been living at the Dursley house since my escape. I make sure they don't hurt him. They think I'm their dog, no one but Harry knows I'm not Paddy."

The four walked a little way away so the Veritaserum could wear off without their conversation making Sirius reveal something unintentional. It only took ten more minutes before the glazed look left Sirius' eyes and he turned to look at the four talking softly over by the fireplace.

"What now?" There was just the briefest spark of hope in the grey eyes.

Madame Bones walked over and retook her seat in front of Sirius so she could talk to him without making him look up at her. "I have no doubt of your innocence of all charges except escaping Azkaban and being an unregistered animagus. Let's say we drop the fines and charges, the ministry will pay you three thousand galleons for each year you were unlawfully imprisoned and expedite your formal guardianship of Harry Potter. I can have the paperwork completed and ready for your signature by this afternoon. Unfortunately the Muggle press is showing pictures of Harry and telling of his death. It will only be a matter of an hour or two before the story is all over the wizarding world. We need to have all the paperwork and documents in order, before anyone starts investigating and finds out that Harry didn't die and he now has no guardian. Not everyone who would file for custody would have his best interests or even his continued survival at heart." She smiled at the gobsmacked expression on the face of the now free man in front of her.

Albus looked calculatingly at the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. "Amelia, I shall be making arrangements for the funeral of Harry Potter later this afternoon, after Arabella returns from her meeting with the muggle police investigating the Dursleys. Perhaps it would be best if Harry Potter did die and a new child, the child of the missing Sirius Black takes his place. If Harry is dead, no one will look for him and he would be even safer. What do you think?"

* * *

AN: I need to know before I type the next chapter, do you want Harry Potter to die and James Remus Black to appear or do you just want Harry dead to the muggles? Also, should Noelle Neely be told that her little Harry survived somehow? 


	7. Chapter 7: Planning

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy. This is a piece of FAN fiction, with heavy emphasis on the FAN, therefore by definition, I own nothing; but I do like to play with the wonderful Ms. Rowling's characters by saying 'what if' and going from there.

AN: Would anyone be interested if I opened a live journal so that I could answer individual questions, give updates on progress and discuss plot developments? I don't know how, but I am sure I could convince my daughter to help if there is enough interest.

AN: Thank you so much for the response to the last chapter, over 200 reviews for one chapter in less than 3 days. That is a record for any single chapter I have written for a WIP. I was surprised at the heated opinions about whether Harry should 'die' or not. Then I opened my mail this morning and found that '**_Snape's Invisible Friend' won first place in the AU Category at HPAA._**

Chapter 7: Planning

The atmosphere in Albus' office was so still even the portraits stopped pretending that they were asleep as the Headmasters totally unexpected question shocked and stunned the small group.

Sirius started spluttering first, "You can't be serious, Albus! I won't take the boy's heritage away from him, he is the son of James and Lily and I will make sure that he knows exactly how much they loved him and how proud they were of him."

Amelia looked at the Headmaster in shock; perhaps the rumors of him getting senile had some basis in truth. "Albus you know as well as I do, that the pureblood fanatics would use the death of the Boy-Who-Lived at the hands of his muggle relatives as an excuse to begin a bloody purge that would tear both worlds apart! And even many of those in the magical community that are strictly neutral might join in the mob. What are you thinking, old man?"

Albus sat down and just twinkled. "No, no just as far as his public persona is concerned. We would be sure to announce in the Daily Prophet that Harry Potter is completely healed, that the story in the muggle press was greatly exaggerated to explain his disappearance from his muggle relatives and that he has now returned to begin his schooling in the wizarding world. We would keep his guardianship completely silent, as well as the return and dismissal of all charges against Sirius. So Harry Potter would disappear once more; spirited away to a new 'loving home'. Then a new identity for both Sirius and his five year old son could be arranged. Very few people would recognize Sirius now, Azkaban has changed your looks greatly, Sirius. We can use muggle makeup to hide Harry's scar, fit him with muggle contact lenses to change his eye color, you both have black hair and even similar features, enough to pass as father and son. So you would be free to live and even move about the wizarding world without danger of recognition."

Amelia's face had gone from total disbelief to calculating curiosity to growing interest. "You know, Albus that might work. I have heard of a program in muggle law enforcement called 'witness protection' that does something like this. We make a full new identity and background for the two, they merge into the normal everyday life and no one notices who they really are, because they aren't looking for them or expect to see them. So they are free to go and do whatever they want without Harry's fame or the danger that hidden death eaters might harm him. What do you think, Sirius, it is your decision after all."

Sirius sat in thought, working various ideas and questions through his mind. "We would still have access to Gringotts and be able to tell those we trust, correct?" At Amelia's nod he went silent once more. "I think I like it, the last years have been hard, keeping everything secret and hoping that no one noticed anything. I was afraid that Harry and I would have to disappear into the muggle world once more, but I know that Harry is very powerful magically and I have been having difficulty hiding his accidental magic all ready. If we could live in anonymity in the wizarding world, I could train him without worry and he could have friends his own age as well as being able to move around without notice…I like it. Let's do it until Harry reaches eleven and then we can reappear from hiding, if that's all right with both of you?"

Amelia and Albus quickly agreed and began the tedious job of filling out a mountain of paperwork to hide the two in plain sight. They let Sirius leave the office to return to Harry's side, reminding him he needed to decide on names for the two of them as soon as possible. Albus' eyes twinkled merrily as he called to Sirius' back "Unless you would like me to choose them for you?" An amazingly dog like growl was the only thing he heard in reply as the spiraling staircase turned, the tall dark haired wizard disappearing from view.

* * *

Remus was watching Harry sleep, enjoying the peaceful steady, even sound of the boy's breathing, his thoughts wandering to how Paddy had managed to remain hidden in dog form for over two years without anyone noticing. He smiled as he thought of his friend having to get 'shots' and flea dipped at the vet. He supposed that the Dursleys had never tried to have him 'fixed'. He was imagining how Paddy would react to that when he heard the hospital doors open behind him and turned to see who had come into the room.

"Ah, Severus more potions?"

"Yes, this is the first batch of nerve healing potions designed for a young child. They should begin to heal any lasting nerve damage to Potter's spine so that he might walk again." Snape seemed to be missing his usual sneer and snarl at having to say 'Potter'.

Snape had just walked over, a wooden chest with padded slots to hold a large number of individual dose vials of potions held carefully in his hands. Remus could see the box would hold at least twenty five or thirty vials but only eight of the slots were filled with the small crystal phials.

"Poppy, the first eight doses of Potter's Nerve renewal potion are completed." Snape called softly, the habit of using a soft voice in the hospital wing so deeply ingrained it was unconscious.

The mediwitch exited her office, her sensible shoes making a soft whisper of sound on the cold stone floors of the long almost empty ward. She was wearing her usual soft grey healers robe with a starched white apron over it, her white hat perched upon her grey hair. Luckily there were no students confined to the infirmary now so she could devote all of her time to the little boy lying so battered and still in the corner behind the screens. "Ah, good Severus. Did you have any trouble titrating the exact strength for each dose?"

Severus scoffed at the fussy woman. "Of course not, you gave me his exact weight and height as well as all other potions he is taking. The last of the muggle 'medications' have left his blood so he can safely begin the series this afternoon. I have substituted safer but still efficacious ingredients for the two ingredients contraindicated with his bone growth potion."

Poppy patted Severus on the shoulder while the dark haired man rolled his eyes in long suffering tolerance. She walked over to check on Harry's leg, banishing the old bloody bandages and smiling at the sight of the greatly reduced scar. She poked and prodded the still flaccid limb, twisting his leg at the knee while she nodded in satisfaction at the amount of new bone that had grown back.

Sirius pushed open the door just as Snape lifted Harry's shoulders, helping Poppy administer the first nerve potion to the still unconscious boy. She looked up at the sound of his shoes rushing across the stone floor and smiled broadly at the worried man. "Sirius you're just in time. Severus has completed the nerve replenisher and we are just giving him the first dose. He will need a steadily stronger dose every eight hours until all the damage to his spine is healed; four or perhaps five days I suspect. His leg now has soft cartilage that will eventually solidify into new bone. His liver is completely healed and his new spleen should have grown back completely by tomorrow. He still has a bit of a concussion, but the skull fracture is completely mended. He should be waking up starting tonight, but for just brief periods as most of the potions work best if he is completely still and he will need to be asleep for most of the next few days."

The tension visibly flowed out of Sirius' shoulders at all of the good news he was hearing. His heart felt lighter than it had in days. He blinked his eyes rapidly to get rid of the excess moisture and sat down heavily in a chair that Remus conjured for him, his legs having lost their strength in relief.

Remus turned to his old friend and began talking softly, not wanting to disturb the healer and the potions master as they performed another diagnostic scanning of Harry and began discussing some obscure potions and ingredients that he had never heard of before.

"How did things go upstairs, Sirius? I assume you were cleared as you're here and there are no aurors chasing you. Did you get custody of the pup?"

Sirius grinned a big goofy grin that Remus hadn't seen on his friend's face since Sirius had tricked that fourth year Hufflepuff girl into kissing him under the mistletoe when they had both been just little first years an eternity ago.

"Everything is wonderful, Moony! I'm cleared; the pup's mine and Albus came up with a way for us to live in peace for a few years. Harry will die in the muggle world; the wizarding world will be told it was so Harry Potter could be placed with a magical family to begin training and schooling in magic. He'll be safe in hiding somewhere and no one will know were he is or who his guardians are."

Remus looked confused, "But I thought you were getting Harry?"

"No, I won't be…because Sirius Black is still missing and presumed dead. But I'll actually be living with my son in plain sight. Amelia is making up whole new identities for the both of us; I just have to change my hairstyle, but since no one else knows I'm alive and well, no one will be looking to see me. We get colored contact lenses for Harry; put some muggle make up on his scar. He had black hair, I have black hair…we both look a little alike…in fact James and Lily used to tease about doing a paternity test when I would hold Harry as a baby, remember? So new names, new identities and we hide in plain sight until Harry turns eleven. It's perfect." Sirius beamed with happiness at his old friend's whoop of delight.

Remus shrugged his shoulders sheepishly as both Poppy and Severus turned and glared at him for his loud yelp. "Sorry." He mouthed at the two as they turned back to their discussion.

"That's fantastic, who will you be, where will you live…what will you be doing as a job?" Remus, ever the practical Marauder had already begun working out the details in his mind.

Sirius just stifled a snort, Moony hadn't changed at all. "I don't know, haven't a clue and who cares, we'll be together and you can be with us too. After all, my son will need a tutor and everyone knows you hire out as a tutor sometimes. No one will think twice about you being with us."

The two grabbed each other in a fierce hug as the long and technical discussion appeared to end and Severus swooped out of the infirmary, his robes billowing out menacingly behind him.

* * *

Giles Newton covered his mouth with his hand as he yawned, his jaw cracking as his mouth twisted. He had not been able to sleep well after the events of the previous evening. He had been a detective for the last nine years, but Greater Whinging usually was a pretty quiet place, sure there were a few drunk drivers, or rowdy teenagers, but child abuse was mostly uncovered quickly and dealt with harshly and swiftly. To think that a poor little boy had suffered with the abuse for four long years and no one had suspected what was going on right under their own noses. 'Why didn't that babysitter report this before, she had certainly documented enough evidence to be taken seriously.' He shook his head and grabbed his oversized mug to pour out a steaming cup full of what was laughingly called 'coffee'. The blast of pure hot caffeine would help him wake up before the babysitter arrived in just fifteen minutes. Newton was certainly curious to find out what she was like and he wanted to ask a few questions of the woman about why she hadn't reported it before.

He was sitting at his desk making copious notes about the Potter/Dursley case when he saw an elderly woman hesitantly enter the large and very busy squad room. She seemed to shrink at the bustling noise, looking around uncertainly for something. Giles took a moment to observe her before going to introduce himself to her. She had stringy grey hair that was starting to turn an unbecoming yellowish white pulled back into an untidy bun with a wrinkled face and pale watery blue eyes that were darting back and forth in confusion. Her faded flowery house dress sloped down her almost nonexistent shoulders from a thin neck. She had a fuzzy red shawl wrapped across her shoulders, the ends hanging down between her arms as she clutched an old string shopping bag nervously with both hands. She was wearing scuffed tartan house slippers with no hose and was talking softly to herself under her breath.

Giles sighed, he knew now why she hadn't reported the abuse; she would have been turned away from the downstairs desk with a patronizing pat on the arm and a vague promise to look into it. He was thankful the woman had kept such meticulous taped and written records while he fervently hoped the prosecutor would never have to rely on her as a witness in court.

He stood up, unconsciously running his hand down his tie to straighten it and stepped up to the elderly woman. "Mrs. Figg, I presume? I'm Detective Giles Newton. If you could follow me, I have a quiet room reserved where we can talk in peace."

The lieutenant had offered the use of his office since he would be in court on another matter, and Giles gratefully led the old women into the nondescript office. He pulled up one of the chairs for Mrs. Figg and then swung the other chair around so that he was sitting across from her instead of behind the large and messy desk. He reached out and took one of the soft, wrinkled hands in his and looked deeply into her eyes. "I want to thank you for coming in this afternoon ma'am. Without your evidence and testimony we wouldn't be able to charge the Dursleys with much of anything." He was surprised to see an iron willed determination in the pale eyes, something he hadn't expected but was pleased to see. There was much more to this woman than her outward appearance suggested.

"First off, I would like to ask you some questions if I may, before we discuss your notebook and what led you to keeping it. We have found 'irregularities' in the records surrounding young Harry, and in fact have found nothing that proves the boy actually is Harry Potter or that Vernon and Petunia Dursley are actually his aunt and uncle or had legal custody of the boy. We've found no records of the existence of James Potter and the records for Lily Evans disappear at the age of eleven. In your conversations with Petunia did she ever say anything about her sister or exactly how the Dursley gained custody of the boy?"

Arabella looked properly shocked at the information the detective had shared with her. She wasn't sure how much information she should share with the muggles. She really needed to speak with Dumbledore and Bones before she made a big mistake. She gathered her 'confused batty old cat woman' persona around her like a cloak and gave vague distressed noncommittal answers to the questioning policeman.

"I don't recall, she might have…but it's been a long time since Harry came to live with them…I could check my old journal, if you would like?" She asked hopefully, giving herself an out to go and speak with the others before committing one way or the other.

Newton looked hopeful "You have personal journals from that time that you can check?"

"Oh yes, I write in my journal each and every night before I go to sleep, have since I was about eight years old. I can go home and check to see if I wrote down anything from when Harry first arrived."

"That would be very helpful, Mrs. Figg, but first I need to go over the information in the notebook that we have. How did you get it here by the way?"

"Oh, you were all so busy and nobody seemed to notice me so I just left it on your desk. The officer downstairs told me your name and I just found your desk and left it for you. Your jacket was on the back of your chair so I just slipped the tapes in so they wouldn't get lost. I hope that was all right?" She looked a little lost, as if she had done something wrong, so Giles dropped the questioning even though he couldn't remember taking his coat off that night, oh well, he had been so busy and then so tired, he might have.

Arabella shook hands with Detective Newton after a very productive hour of talking and left quickly, in a hurry to get home and floo to Albus Dumbledore's office before he left for the funeral home.

* * *

Amelia Bones had been very busy all day, but finally the paperwork was completed, all it needed was the names that Sirius had decided upon, his signature and the signatures of the witnesses and she could stamp it with the proper seals and then seal it up with so many charms it would never come to the light of day again, at least until the subterfuge could be safely admitted to.

She told her clerk she would be leaving the Ministry building headed for Hogwarts once more and instructed the young witch that not only was she not to be contacted for any reason short of an attack, the witch was to tell no one where she had gone. She gathered the thick folder of parchments under her outer robe and entered the private auror floo, calling out 'Hogwarts' as she disappeared into the green flames.

* * *

Arabella's head appeared in the fireplace of Dumbledore's office, getting the attention of the two deep in discussion sitting on a long couch facing the flames. "Ah, Arabella let me help you step through." He bent down, holding out an elegant long fingered hand to help the elderly squib through.

Arabella only stopped long enough to issue vague greetings to Albus and Amelia before she launched into a long conversation about what she had found out from the muggle detective.

"So, they can't find any records about James and Lilly's disappear when she begins at Hogwarts. They don't believe the birth certificate from St. Mungo's is real, they think the Dursleys just kidnapped a baby for some reason and they are madly trying to find out where Harry came from. The prosecutor wants to charge them with kidnapping as well as child neglect and endangerment. I told Giles I would check my old journals to see if Petunia ever said anything about the baby except what they already told everyone. What do you want me to say to them?"

Amelia had gotten a very frightening gleam in her piercing deep blue eyes and an almost feral smile graced her thin red lips. "I think we can use this! I think this will work. Albus, you told the hospital that you and Minerva were Harry's grandparents and the others were aunts and an uncle, correct?" At his bewildered nod, she continued. "Well, you only showed up after Harry's picture was broadcast, so we say that you recognized the child from his photo, using some of James old photos from his school age and claim the baby was stolen and you have been searching for years, hoping the child survived the deaths of his parents. We can provide plenty of authentic looking documentation for a tragic accident overseas, as well as background documentation for James Potter living in…America perhaps. Then Lily's records can show she went to boarding school in America and the two met and married over there. A marriage license, a birth certificate in an American hospital for Harry and then death certificates and perhaps some old newspaper clippings about the child mysteriously disappearing from the accident scene and then you can be the bereaved grandparents who found their beloved grandson only to lose him again."

"Arabella, you did say the Dursleys always claimed that James and Lily died in a car accident. So we use that information and build on it. I have several friends in the American Ministry for Magic that have close contacts in the Muggle law enforcement, including one who does that 'witness protection' program. That's actually how I know about the program. He claims that the new identity is so thorough that even the muggles believe it. If I can use your floo, Albus I can get in touch with him straight away and set everything up so that with a few 'hints' from Arabella, the detective will be able to search in the right area of America and find just what we want him to find." She looked at the two with satisfaction shining in her eyes, waiting for their comments.

"That's a lot of extra work to go to isn't it?" Arabella was uncertain if the work would be worth the time and effort.

"I know for a fact that without kidnapping charges, the Dursleys will be lucky to get two years in sentencing and then out before that with time off for good behavior. Whereas, kidnapping charges will get them at least twenty years without early parole, and pictures of Albus and Minerva claiming to be the grandparents and then appearing in court can be released to the Daily Prophet to back up our tale of Harry returning to the wizarding world. Everyone will recognize them and find nothing unbelievable about them being the public front for us. We make sure to have you both appear totally muggle, all documents in order and no one will suspect a thing. You and Minerva are too strong and too well placed at Hogwarts for a rogue death eater to try to snatch you for information, so that's covered."

Albus clasped Amelia's hand in both of his, his eyes twinkling madly. "It's brilliant, Amelia a plan worthy of the Marauders in their prime."

Amelia's face twisted as she answered "I'm not sure that's really a compliment, Albus! I remember all the tales from their days at Hogwarts all too well."

The three laughed as they left the office, headed down to the hospital wing to find Sirius and ask him about the names he had chosen and to begin signing the myriad papers necessary to change his and Harry's identities.

* * *

Harry could hear a very familiar voice talking softly and reassuringly to him, but he wasn't sure he wanted to wake up. In the nothingness he was floating in there was no pain and he remembered that pain very vividly. As he listened to the meaningless words that washed over him, he began to search out his arms and legs, ready to pull back into the white fog at the first stab of unendurable pain that he fully expected to find. Nothing with either leg; though he did feel uncomfortable tingles running up and down his right leg, like he had been sitting funny and his leg had gone to sleep somehow, but not bad enough that he couldn't ignore it. He continued with his arms, but they felt just fine, a few minor twinges that rapidly vanished as he released the tension of muscles that had laid too long in one position. His back did hurt, but it was a dull, constant pain, uncomfortable but not so bad that he wouldn't wake up.

He did realize that his head was throbbing with each heartbeat, but he knew from before that Sirius could get rid of any headache with a little bit of a really nasty tasting potion, so that would be all right too. He forced one eye open, the crusts of dried tears holding his eyelashes together uncomfortably. He groaned as his eyelashes pulled apart in sudden pain. A face appeared almost instantly above his one open eye and as he recognized the beloved face of his Paddy, he forced the other eye open as well, weakly smiling back at the huge grin that greeted him.

"Hey, Pup how are you feeling?" Sirius asked softly, knowing that Harry probably had a pounding headache. He noticed the small flinch of pain on the boy's face as he spoke so he knew he had guessed right.

Sirius leaned over to Remus and whispered urgently in his friend's ear before turning back to his godson. Remus stood quickly and went to fetch Poppy and a headache potion as quietly as he could.

"Shh, don't try to talk, your throats still a bit sore from the tube. Poppy will bring you a headache potion in just a minute and then you'll be feeling much better. Just hang on a few minutes more, Pup."

Harry nodded weakly and then wished mightily that he hadn't moved his head as a new pain made itself known. Sirius recognized the flash that showed briefly on Harry's face and began to lightly stroke the boy's head, murmuring soothing words as he gently massaged the throbbing temples, easing the pain with his soft touch.

An unknown, but kindly looking woman appeared above Harry and placed a vial of a familiar potion up to Harry's lips as Sirius lifted his shoulders up, his head rested comfortably on his godfather's shoulder as he swallowed down the nasty stuff, his face screwing up in distaste.

"Hello Harry, my name is Poppy Pomfrey and I am the Mediwitch for Hogwarts School. That's were you are now; we brought you here after your cousin pushed you down the stairs at school. Do you remember what happened?"

Harry nodded, looking frightened and uncomfortable. "Yeah, I was so scared and it hurt, and then I couldn't feel my legs at all and then my head split in pain and then it's all black. I remember snatches of people talking and then not being able to breath and then nothing but floating on a white cloud." He turned to look at Sirius, "I could hear you talking to me so I knew I would be all right. I remember you saying I was safe and that you loved me. Didn't I" His voice was barely above a whisper, but it relieved the last worries of the three over lasting brain damage.

Poppy had run her wand up and down the small body, making satisfied clucking noises every once in a while. She left for a few short moments before returning and giving Sirius several more small potion vials to feed to the child now leaning against his chest. He had refused to leave Harry's bed and was now sitting behind the boy up against the headboard while Harry leaned back comfortably against his chest. Harry almost instantly went back to sleep after the last potion was followed by a small goblet of cool water, the deep rumble of Sirius talking against his back soothing the last of his worries as he fell deeply asleep.

* * *

Amelia had explained the entire convoluted plan to the two wizards sitting with Harry in the hospital wing, with Albus and Arabella adding information as needed. Sirius had been skeptical of the plan working but after hearing the entire thing laid out, he was getting more enthusiastic by the sentence. "So those monsters will actually have to pay for all they've done, not just get a slap on the wrists? Good, let's go for it! What do we have to do?"

"Well, first you have to tell me the names you've picked out so we can sign formal guardianship papers. Then I'll contact my friend in America and get the ball rolling as he always says."

Sirius looked bewildered at the friends gathered around him. In the excitement of Harry waking up and the long discussion of the convoluted deception they were planning, he had forgotten all about new names. He looked desperately at Remus. "What do you think our names should be?"

* * *

AN: I need help, I knew I would never really name Harry 'James Remus' because he wouldn't be a Black…but I really have no clue what names to chose so let me know your suggestions and I will pick the best ones. Thanks for your help and a big thank you for everyone who voted for **_Snape's Invisible Friend_**. 


	8. Chapter 8: Names

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

AN: Thank you for all of your wonderful suggestions on names, they really helped sort out and clarify my own thoughts. As many of you suggested, I really like the name Patrick so that Harry can continue to call Sirius 'Paddy' and I also think Harry's first name should remain Harry so that it doesn't confuse the child, especially while he is recovering, but changing it to Harold, Harrell, or Harrow so I guess I will. I also thank those who pointed out my errors in terminology, a detective would be inspector and a lawyer would be a barrister. I shall try to do better but let me know when I make errors like that. Also, to those who objected to the introduction of America into the background of Lily, James and Harry; sorry but I don't know of any other country that would have the framework and experience to quickly fabricate an entire life history for the 'witness protection' program, otherwise I first thought of Australia or Canada or even New Zealand.

Thank you again and hopefully my new wireless router will arrive soon, so that I can access the internet again.

Chapter 8: Names

Remus and Sirius were trying to outdo each other with bizarre names for poor Harry, with even more bizarre offerings from Albus being interjected into the discussion until Amelia could take it no more.

Holding her sides with laughter she tried to speak firmly, but it was impossible. "All right stop it, all of you. This is serious." She glared at Sirius before he could make the old joke at her. "The poor boy is going to be stuck with the name for the next six years or so and I know you are not going to call him 'Urien', 'Adalardo', 'Marmaduke', or 'Ultan' Remus, even if they are all perfectly acceptable Celtic names."

She turned to Sirius and glared at him. "And forgive me but your family's habit of ancient Greek names isn't much better. Do you really want to damage the boy's psyche by calling him 'Adrastos', 'Anatole', 'Callisto' or 'Melancton'? I thought you liked the child!"

She dropped her monocle as she shut her eyes before she turned to the final miscreant with feigned disgust, his choices were truly bizarre and she didn't know what culture he drew them from. "What are you thinking Albus? We are trying to hide the child, not make him the object of conjecture. Who exactly names their child 'Quirk', 'Scout', 'Meteor', 'Fennel' or 'Comet'; for Merlin's sake man, it sounds like you're naming your pet dog not a small boy. Didn't you get teased enough about Albus Percival Wulfric Brian enough to want to spare the child?"

She rattled the stack of parchments on her lap at the three now thoroughly chastised men, drawing their attention back to the solemn task. "I need real names for them, and the sooner the better. I know that Albus has a 7 p.m. meeting with the muggle funeral director so let's get to work gentlemen." She smiled at the sheepish look of apology on both Sirius and Remus' faces, nothing would faze Albus Dumbledore and she hadn't expected her rant to affect him at all.

"Okay," Sirius said, finally serious for the moment. "I would like for Harry to be able to keep his name of Harry and while Lily and James named him 'Harry' it would be acceptable to change his name to 'Harrell' and just have him called Harry as a nickname. And I would like to be 'Patrick' so that Harry can call me 'Paddy' like he always does. No one would think twice since 'Paddy' and 'Daddy' are so close. I know we can't keep Black as a last name, it's too prominent in the wizarding world and too well known that I am the last Black male since my brother Regulus died without children. But we could do something like Blackwood, or Blackman…what do you think?" He looked around at the others.

"Blackguard would fit." Remus' comment earned him a soft smack on the back of the head from his best friend in response.

"Maybe something Latin or Greek that means black or dark, perhaps?" Amelia suggested looking at Albus for his opinion.

"Hmm, Furvis, Niger are both Latin. I don't think of anything suitable in Greek off hand but Schwarz is German or Noir is black in French. Any of those might work or the compound words that Sirius chose might be more common since they are obviously both British wizards." Albus was running his hand idly though his beard as he thought out loud. "I think he might also like Grimson, since you are almost a grim animagus and Harry will be your son as it were. Or perhaps just Grimm as in the Brothers Grimm; Patrick and Harrell Grimm could work quite well."

Sirius roared with glee. "I love it! Now all we have to decide are middle names for the two of us, any suggestions Remus?"

Remus wiped a tear of laughter from his cheek and thought for a moment. "How about Jamison for Harry since he is 'the son of James'; but I haven't a clue for you." He looked expectantly at his friend, waiting for his verdict on the name.

Sirius smiled, small wrinkles appeared beside his eyes as he nodded his approval at the thoughtful suggestion. "I think James would like that, Moony. I don't really care about my middle name, I so seldom use it. My middle name of Orion is only objectionable to me because it gives me the initials of SOB and I thought that was cruel even for my bastard parents."

Amelia joined the conversation again. "So we have Harrell Jamison Grim for Harry; how about Patrick Libertas Grimm in honor of your freedom? No one in the wizarding world would think twice about that name for you. And neither one of you have objectionable initials that way."

Sirius smiled a crooked smile at the Head of Magical Law Enforcement and simply said. "That works for me. Let's do it." Amelia sighed in relief and began filling out the reams of paperwork before bidding the men goodbye to go and contact her American counterpart to get the supporting documents fabricated as soon as possible.

* * *

Inspector Newton was busy filling out paperwork for the Potter/Dursley case so that he could go home for the night when he received a phone call from the elderly babysitter that had already supplied the foundation for the whole case against the Dursleys. "Hello, Mrs. Figg, how may I assist you? Did you find anything of note in your old journals that might be of use in finding the boy's real family?" 

"Why yes, Inspector. I met little Harry's grandparents and his two aunts and uncle when I was sitting in the waiting room at the hospital night before last. It didn't dawn on me that you might not know of them until I returned home and dug out my old journals. I didn't find anything from my journals other than Petunia telling me her nephew's mother and father had died in a car accident and that her sister had attended some prestigious boarding school in the states. Perhaps the hospital has some record of the grandparents? I know I heard them talking about some funeral home and having services for the poor boy in a few days. They did take down my name and number so that they could dial me up with the information. I hope that helps you, Inspector."

Giles was eagerly scribbling down notes on a large yellow pad as the old woman spoke. He couldn't keep his excitement at the new lead out of his voice as he thanked the woman and urged her to call him if she remembered anything else; even if she thought it was trivial and had no bearing on the case. As soon as he hung the phone up, he dialed up information services and told them to start searching for information on Lily Evans and James Potter in the states. He paused only long enough to tell his supervisor that he was leaving for Greater Whinging hospital to follow up on a good lead, before rushing out of the building to speed away in his red Austin, squealing the tires in his rush.

* * *

Dudley was livid. He was stuck, locked into the small room with only a few battered plastic blocks that were totally useless when he threw them against the barred window. They merely made a soft squashy whoosh and fell harmlessly down to the floor. And the only other things in the cheap plastic bucket were several picture books that he had promptly torn into shreds before stomping the plastic bin into an unrecognizable flat mass. Now there was nothing left in the room except his well worn and too frequently washed bed linens, the metal hospital nightstand and the small three drawer dresser that held a single change of clothes for the morning. And its steel and Formica construction firmly resisted any attempt he made to destroy it. He couldn't even throw the dresser or the nightstand since they were both bolted to the wall with long cement bolts clear through the backs and into the painted cinderblock wall. 

His morning had been spent talking to an endless parade of white coated men and women who all wanted to know about his family and his 'freak' of a cousin. They didn't seem to believe him when he talked about how that weird dog made them all treat the weirdo better; in fact they seemed to think he was lying about almost everything. They never said anything of course, but he could see it in their faces and their hard cold eyes as they wrote endlessly on their metal clipboards.

After a pitiful lunch of a single ham and cheese sandwich and a tiny little bag of stale crisps, the afternoon had been spent working on an endless folder of schoolwork. And when he had just scribbled meaningless doodles all over the pages, he had been told he hadn't 'earned' television points so he would have to spend the rest of the evening after the lousy supper of noodles and mystery meat with over boiled tinned green beans in his room. He had screamed every foul word he had ever learned at the locked door to no effect, destroyed everything he could reach in his miserably sick, overly white room and now, there was absolutely nothing to do. He flung himself down on the miserable lumpy bed and pounded his clenched fists over and over into the flat pillow until he exhausted himself, and then he cried himself to sleep.

* * *

Harry felt snug and warm. He knew the comforting presence beside him was his familiar 'Paddy' by the touch of his magic on his own, but it felt slightly different, almost stronger somehow, as if Paddy had recharged his magic. Paddy had explained to him all about how to access his own magical core and the meditation he needed to block out everything that had happened at his relatives' house so that he didn't flare with accidental magic and get in trouble. He turned his thoughts outward and realized that there were several other magical people in the room with him. He was excited to be able to 'read' anyone except himself and Paddy, he had never 'felt' anyone else, so he forced himself to open his eyes, blinking rapidly to make his eyes adjust to the huge blindingly white room. 

Stifling a groan, he looked up at Paddy who was talking and didn't even realize that Harry was awake yet. Harry was lying on Paddy's lap, curled up with his head on the strong chest as he had slept. His right leg felt less 'tingly' but it was still propped up on a large fluffy pillow. Harry looked around and noticed a man about Paddy's age with faded brown hair and wrinkled old dark brown robes. A tall, straight backed man with shoulder length hair had his back to Harry on the other side of the room talking earnestly to the nice older lady that Harry had met earlier. The man's hands were gesticulating as he talked but they were too far away to hear anything they were saying so Harry turned his attention back to the man sitting beside Paddy.

"Hello, Harry how are you feeling? A bit better than last time you woke up I suspect?" The man smiled a soft smile that fit with his soft spoken, quiet tenor voice. Harry 'felt' his magic, but it wasn't quite like the magic he could feel from the other three adults in the room. He felt something like Paddy when he was a dog, but not quite, just somehow 'odd' and wrong. Harry tried to ask him about it, but all he managed was a dry croak that hurt his throat. The man reached over and held a cold strange looking metal cup to his lips and poured a little bit of icy cold water in his mouth for him to swallow. Harry grimaced as his throat muscles complained when he swallowed. Paddy recognized the painful expression on Harry's face and called over to the two still conversing in the corner. "Poppy, Harry's awake again and his throats hurting too much for him to swallow anything."

The plump woman, dressed in a starched white apron over a dove grey dress stopped at a locked cabinet hanging on the wall before bustling over to hand the small glass bottle to Paddy, who pushed Harry's head backward with his chin before pouring the horrible, thick sludge into Harry's open mouth. Harry gagged twice before the potion numbed his mouth and throat completely, causing a small crooked smile to grace the boy's lips. He softly whispered to Paddy; "Can I have some water please, Paddy?" without any pain at all. The odd cup was traded for the empty potion bottle and Paddy fed him all of the cold water in small sips.

"Hello, Harry my name is Remus Lupin and I am a friend of your godfather Sirius as well as a very good friend to both of your parents before they died. You can call me Remus or Moony, whichever you like."

Harry raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Your magic 'feels' different from Paddy's but sort of like when he is being a big dog, are you an animagus too?"

The man had startled when Harry mentioned his 'feel' but then the tall dark man started asking questions before anyone else could say anything. "You can feel the magic in people, Potter? How does each of us 'feel' to you?" There was something there besides curiosity, almost dark about the strange man.

Paddy ran his free hand through Harry's hair, telling him it was okay to talk to everyone there. "You are in the infirmary at Hogwarts School now Harry, its okay to talk openly about magic to anyone you meet here. Everyone here is a wizard or a witch; there are no muggles to worry about overhearing anything we say. If you want to answer Professor Snape's questions you may. I admit I am also curious about you being able to 'feel' a witch or wizards magic."

Harry looked up at the tall wizard standing in such an intimidating manner over him. Up close, he could tell the man's hair was stringy and greasy and he had a large hooked nose that seemed to have been broken several times in the past. Harry shrank back, using his godfather's chest as a welcoming protective presence. He forced himself to look into the staring black eyes rather that at the man's thick black nose hairs and his crooked yellow teeth and stuttered. "Yeah, it feels different for my magic than Paddy's and Paddy the grim feels different than when Sirius is a man. But I never had anyone else around to notice until now to know that I can feel all of you too. And the walls and floors, and all the furniture feel magic too, just not alive, somehow…" His voice faded off as he turned his concentration inward, analyzing everything he was now noticing about the odd bits of information he was just realizing he could sense.

He was so intense on his inner feelings; he didn't notice the surprised glances the others all shared before he turned his attention outward again to those in the room. "Madame Pomfrey feels…warm, soothing….she makes people strong and…healthy, right?" At her pleased nod he turned to Paddy and really looked at his magic. "Paddy…you are stronger in magic…. I don't know how to say this…about protection against bad people…maybe, does that make any sense? And I can 'see' your dog form almost like a ghost over your magic." Paddy had his mouth open in shocked surprise as Harry turned without noticing towards Moony.

"You are very strong…but there's something very…I don't know…wild…animal…not quite right. It feels really wrong somehow, like it's something bad…a curse sort of, like Sirius taught me about before. It doesn't belong to you, someone made you sick, I think." Moony was sitting as silent as a statue as Harry analyzed his innermost being. He looked stricken at Sirius who had met his shocked eyes over Harry's head as the boy turned his attention on the last wizard in the room.

Snape looked very apprehensive at what the child would sense about him, he had many deep secrets that he had never admitted to anyone, not even the Headmaster who knew more about him than anyone else alive. Harry turned his head with a quizzical expression on his little face as he looked, really 'looked' at the third stranger intently. "You are also very strong in…protection against bad wizards, but it is hidden almost like you don't want people to know about it. And you are 'sick' too…a curse…but Moony's is all over and yours is your left arm. The blackness is trying to eat away at your magic and take away the good magic in you. You also have some of Madame Pomfrey's healing…but it's different…more to do with the earth…I don't know….something about plants instead of people."

Harry looked up over his shoulder at Sirius to make sure he was still doing something okay. At the unspoken question, Sirius nodded and smiled at Harry to continue if he wanted to. Harry looked back at Professor Snape who was still focused entirely upon the surprising child in front of him. He knew that no one had even told the boy who he was, let alone that he was a potion's master with a decided liking for DADA as well as being marked with the dark mark.

Harry bit the side of his lower lip as he tried to find the words to explain what he could sense about the apprehensive man in front of him. "You have lots of old hurts, like when my Uncle and Aunt used to yell at me and hurt me…and you don't really like me…but I don't know why? Have we met before Professor? I don't remember ever meeting you."

Snape drew himself up to his full height, looked threateningly to the other three present and swept out of the room, black robes billowing in a nonexistent wind as he stalked out, afraid to say anything to the small child who had somehow managed to read clear to the hidden depths of his very soul.

* * *

Albus had accepted the packet of information that Amelia had floo-ed to him as soon as the American Ministry of Magic had sent it to her. The entire process had been expedited and had even been flashed to her by phoenix so that it would be ready for his foray into the muggle world that evening. Arabella had brought something called a 'mail order catalog' to him and showed him oddly unmoving pictures to show how he should transform their clothes before the evening meeting with the muggle funeral director. 

He floo-ed to Arabella's house before transforming their clothing to match the pictures she had provided. He followed her out and got into her strange vehicle, hoping she would drive in a more sedate manner than the last time he had entrusted his very life to her driving. Thankfully, she managed to arrive safely and much slower than their last trip. The funeral parlor was in a large white building with tall columns holding up a porch that completely covered the driveway as it bent in a graceful arc from the street and then back again. She parked in a space marked 'visitors' and led the way to large and ornately carved wooden doors that opened out under the two story porch. The interior seemed muffled somehow, sounds were much softer than he expected, a soothing music filling the background as Arabella led the way to a small desk with spindly legs where a somberly dressed middle aged muggle sat, an open day book in front of her. Tasteful muggle landscapes and various large floral displays lined the walls of the impressive and elegant room.

Albus reached up to run his fingers down his long beard, only to find it was neatly trimmed and barely reached under his chin. He looked curiously over at a large mirror hung in an ornate golden frame and almost surprised himself at the image he saw looking back at him. His hair was combed over the top of his head and just reached below his ears. His beard had been neatly shaped so much more of his cheeks showed and his eyebrows were much smaller and neater than they usually were. He smiled at his image, liking how much younger the disguise made him seem. His tasteful three piece suit was a dark bluish black with a thin almost invisible lighter pinstripe, a starched white shirt with a modestly patterned light blue tie peeked over the top of his buttoned vest. A folded handkerchief just poked up from his breast pocket and a gold chain disappeared into his watch pocket.

Arabella nudged him gently to remind him of their mission as she told the receptionist that Harry Potter's grandparents had an appointment with a Mr. Burkhart Rhode at 7 p.m. The receptionist picked up a small black rectangle and spoke softly into it. She had barely put the plastic thing back into its holder when a door opened down the corridor and a quiet, very tall and thin man strode purposefully toward them. He reached out his hand almost before he reached them and shook Albus' hand before turning to Mrs. Figg and speaking. "I am so sorry for the loss of your grandson. My name is Burkhart Rhode and anything I can do to help you through this most trying of times, you just have to ask."

Arabella smiled weakly at the man holding her hand in such sympathy she almost blushed. "I'm Harry's babysitter and neighbor, not his grandmother. Albus is his grandfather, but his grandmother is too distraught to be here tonight, so I offered to help. My name is Arabella Figg and this is Albus Dumbledore." The man finally let go of her hand and escorted the two down to his office, their feet making no noise as they sank into the thick dark green carpet.

Albus and Bella entered the man's office to find a huge, dark mahogany conference table with a scattering of well padded and comfortable guest chairs placed all around it. They each took an offered seat as Rhode slipped behind them in a well practiced move and sat in the chair right next to Albus. A dark heavy paper folder was already waiting for them on the table and Rhode pulled it over and folded his hands over it, drawing their attention to him, rather than the sordid business papers. "Can you tell me something about your grandson, Mr. Dumbledore?" As Albus opened his mouth to speak, a soft ringing sounded from an odd black plastic thing sitting on a small table over against the wall. Rhode excused himself graciously and walked over and picked up the top half of the phone before placing it next to his ear. His eyes widened as he nodded his head in silence, finally speaking. "Yes, yes send him down by all means. Thank you, Gladys."

"Excuse me, please. There is an Inspector Newton here who wishes to meet with all of us. I'll be back in just a moment. Excuse me please." He stood up gracefully and left the room momentarily to return with a middle aged man, his dark brown hair shortly cropped and just beginning to show the first signs of grey at the temples. His face was weathered and wrinkled as if he spent too much time out of doors, or worrying or both. His eyes had the crows feet of someone who enjoyed laughing and living life, but his muddy hazel eyes looked full of pain and resignation as if he dreaded the conversation he knew was coming.

Albus stood up as the two men entered the room, his hand outstretched to shake the hand the Inspector thrust out at the same time. "I'm Albus Dumbledore and little Harry is my grandson, though we didn't know what had happened to him or where he was until we saw the news on the telly."

"Giles Newton, Inspector First Class for the Greater Whinging Police. I am in charge of your grandson's case against Dudley Dursley and his parents. I was not aware of your existence or how to get in touch with you until a call this afternoon from…" he stopped speaking when he noticed Mrs. Figg sitting at the table looking around the tall figure of Dumbledore at him.

"Ah, Mrs. Figg I hadn't expected to find you here. You didn't mention coming this afternoon when I spoke with you." Giles was a little surprised to find her there.

Dumbledore smiled at the flustered Inspector. "I called Mrs. Figg after she had spoken with you and asked her to accompany me since she knew my grandson so well. My wife is too upset to accompany me here and I thought Mrs. Figg might know who we should invite and what little Harry's favorite things were since I haven't seen my grandson since his parents died when he was but fifteen months old."

Rhode gestured at the two men to have seats and waited for the Inspector to ask his questions. He knew about the boy, he had been the lead news for the last two days after all, first the senseless attack from his cousin and then his death followed by the mysteries surrounding exactly who the boy really was and how he had come to be at the Dursley house in the first place. He knew the funeral for the boy was likely to be a media circus with television cameras and reporters as well as a huge flock of strangers who felt drawn to the little boy and his bizarre story and untimely death. He had already seen reports of huge amounts of flowers, toys and candles being placed all over the empty Dursley house and interest wasn't likely to fade away before the memorial service was held.

Giles pulled out his ever present notebook and took out a ballpoint pen, the end deformed with multiple teeth marks as Giles was well known by his colleagues as a pen biter when he was thinking. "Can you tell me the full information about your grandson's parents and where he was born? And do you know how he came to be with the Dursley's? Is Petunia actually his real aunt?" He waited, his pen poised to take down the relevant information.

Albus reached into a slim, soft sided briefcase that neither man had even notice he had sitting at his feet and drew out a thick sheaf of papers. He searched through the stack and pulled out a single sheet which he handed to the Inspector. It was a birth certificate for a Harry James Potter, born July 31, 1980 from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The mother was listed as Lily Evans Potter and the father was listed as James Potter. Giles was busily jotting down information when Rhode offered to Xerox anything the he wished. Giles thanked him and went back to questioning the old man, purposefully being gentle since he didn't want to distress the old man if he could avoid it.

"Can you tell me anything about their history and how Lily came to be in America when she is listed as a British citizen?" Giles prompted.

"Ah, yes. Well I don't know the whole story as I am James' mother's father so I didn't meet Lily until they were wed in 1978. The story as best I remember it was that Lily won a scholarship for the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities boarding school for gifted children and went to school there from the age of eleven until she graduated at eighteen. My grandson also attended and then the two of them enrolled in Harvard, which is when they married and little Harry was born. Unfortunately they were both killed on Halloween night in 1981 in an automobile accident and the authorities contacted Petunia Dursley since Lily had a letter from her sister in her purse at the time of the accident and the police couldn't find any other family. So they released Harry to Petunia and she brought Harry back her but neglected to file the proper paperwork with him and the police didn't know where to find her."

"Meanwhile a friend of my grandson had contacted my wife and me about James and Lily's accident and we went to Boston to arrange the funerals and bring our great grandson home, but no one seemed to know where he was. We closed up their house and brought everything back to our manor house, but we were unable to find Harry or Lily's sister. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had died some time before so we had no where to even begin looking for Harry. We were watching the news day before yesterday and recognized Harry's picture and went to the hospital right away." He stopped talking and brought out two pictures, one of James and Lily together with Harry just before their untimely deaths and the second one of James at about four years old that Albus had found in an old album in the Potter Family Vault at Gringotts. The resemblance, except for the eye color was startling.

"No wonder you recognized the boy, he is the spitting image of his father at the same age, isn't he? So Petunia is actually his aunt but she never really filed for official guardianship or bothered to try to adopt him, correct?" Giles was saying goodbye to the kidnapping charges, but he could still manage multiple child abuse and child endangerment and with the testimony of the psychiatrists about Dudley they might even get neglect charges because his parents apparently not only allowed Dudley to bully Harry, they actually encouraged it!

Albus had handed Giles copies of the two death certificates for James and Lily and several other supporting documents the American's had so graciously supplied, including a much worn copy of an old newspaper article about an unfortunate couple being killed by a drunk driver on a slippery dark road while their infant son somehow survived.

Giles took the copies that Rhodes secretary provided for him, offered his condolences on the loss of the man's family to Albus and left them to finish planning an appropriate memorial for the small boy.

* * *

AN: I know, not much in this chapter, but it is what it is. The next will have the muggle funeral, the response by the wizarding world and Harry meeting Hogwarts. I decided it wouldn't be fair to actually try the Dursley's for kidnapping as they did really have custody of him, even though they never bothered filing the proper paperwork or even trying to adopt him. Thanks for all the suggestions for the names, if you have time check out some of the suggestions. 


	9. Chapter 9: The Funeral

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

AN: I went back and corrected a few errors in the last chapter, most notably the cell phone that didn't really exist in the timeframe of this story. Thank you to all of those who also pointed out the 't' in Schwarz, it's my faithful reviewers that keep me typing and honest. Thank you very much.

Chapter 9: The Funeral

Harry spent most of the next two days sleeping, but whenever he woke up he was never alone and had come to trust Moony almost as much as Paddy and would accept him the few times he had awoken when Poppy had dosed Paddy, making him sleep since he refused to leave Harry's side otherwise and was almost incoherent in his exhaustion before Moony slipped a dose of dreamless sleep into his hot chocolate. They put Paddy onto the next bed so Harry would still be able to see his godfather even when the man was sound asleep.

"Moony why does your magic look so wrong, it's all black around the edges and looks… sick… somehow?" Harry asked innocently unaware of the man's secret. "It looks like it hurts you a lot and it makes you tired and sick all the time."

"Uh, Harry how about if we wait to talk about that when Paddy is awake so he can help me explain it better." Moony was trying to distract Harry with a wizarding book about Merlin he had found in the Hogwarts library.

"But why doesn't Madame Pomfrey make it all better like she did mine?" Harry was nothing if not perseverant. He was determined not to be distracted, even by the fascinating glimpses of the wizarding pictures in the book Moony was holding.

"Madame Pomfrey doesn't know how to make my magic pure again, Harry. Magic can't cure everything and there is not cure to the curse I have had since I was a little boy. Now why don't you lie back and let me read to you. It's almost time for some more potions and then it will be time for you to sleep so your body can heal some more." Moony scooted his chair around so he could read the words while still showing the enticing pictures to the boy. In his best teacher's voice he began reading the story, purposefully keeping his voice soft and his tone low to lull the boy back to sleep.

* * *

Dudley had finished all of his tests and was moved to a long term ward in the Surrey Psychiatric Center. Technically he wasn't quite old enough since he was still only five and a half, but no one wanted him to go to his Aunt Marge and his parents were obviously not available to take custody of him. The long term children's ward was designed for those children with severe psychiatric problems that required long term hospitalization from the ages of six to eighteen, but the only alternative was a short term foster care placement. Because of the severity of Dudley's antisocial behavior, his total lack of guilt or remorse, and the notoriety of his senseless attack that led to the death of his cousin, they had been unable to find any foster parents willing to accept him into their home, even for the few months until the disturbed boy turned six in just five more months.

So three days after he was admitted to the evaluation ward, he was given a wrinkled paper sack with his own clothes and escorted up two floors to another locked ward. He was assigned into a room with a boy about nine years old who took one look at the fat and obviously belligerent boy and let him know the rules of survival as the youngest child there just as soon as they were left alone. Jeremiah had no fear of the boy's threats and just spun Dudley around and twisted the fat boys arm up painfully behind his back when Dudley tried to charge the much older and well muscled boy.

"Listen here fat boy. You follow the rules and keep your nose clean and we'll get along just fine. I'm due to be released on my birthday when I turn ten and you aren't going to lose me points or privileges. You will keep our room clean, your bed made at all times or else I will do much worse to you then just twist your fat arm blubber boy. As roommates, if you misbehave, I lose telly time and freedoms. And let me tell you, I don't let no body make me lose telly time." The older boy had leaned down and whispered menacingly into the much shorter Dudley's ear, pulling up on his arm to reinforce the message he was giving the newbie.

"Ow, ow let go of me…ow, ow stop it, please stop it!" Tears of pain were streaming down Dudley's fat cheeks as he begged the much taller and stronger boy.

"Do you understand what I'm telling you? Are you gonna follow the rules, lardy?" Jeremiah yanked his arm once more.

"Yes, yes I promise…I promise to be good." Dudley grabbed his wrist as Jeremiah released his sore arm.

"Good, that's your bed over there. Now put away your clothes and it's time to go to lunch and then school." Jeremiah turned his back, hiding the smile on his face as he contemplated how simple it was to teach the new patients the ground rules.

* * *

On the morning of the funeral for 'Harry Potter', Harry woke up and found a strange little man standing at the side of his bed, bouncing on his tiny feet and smiling at him. Harry blinked at what he was sensing from the being. "Are you a wizard?" Harry was curious, the little man's magic felt slightly twisted, pure and good, but not quite like anyone he had felt before.

"Why yes, Harry I am Professor Flitwick and I teach charms here at Hogwarts. I suppose I will be teaching you in just a few short years, just as I taught your mother and father when they attended Hogwarts. Has your godfather explained what will be happening today to you?"

"Uh, yeah I am going to be 'Harrell Grimm' and my new daddy will be 'Paddy Grimm'. Everyone at my old house thinks I'm dead so nobody will hurt me or my new daddy and we can do magic and everything."

"That's right, my boy that's right. Well today is the funeral for 'Harry Potter' and so Albus and Minerva had to go since everyone thinks they are your grandparents. And Sirius is your godfather so he must attend. And since Poppy, Remus and Severus pretended to be your aunt and uncles they must attend as well. But no one wanted you to wake up alone, so here I am." Flitwick was so excited he was bouncing on his toes and his smile split his face in two, his rather sharply pointed teeth plainly visible as he bubbled in his excitement.

Just when Harry had finally grasped what the tiny man had explained to him a loud crash sounded as the infirmary doors slammed open, banging against the walls as they crashed. A booming deep voice seemed to make the very bed he was lying on shake with each word spoken he spoke.

"Hi, yeh, blimey Harry yeh look a lot like yeh Dad, but yeh've got yer Mum's eyes." Harry looked up in astonishment and then had to keep looking up and up to finally see the giant's face, though almost all of the man's face was covered with a thick tangled beard and long scruffy hair. His beetle black eyes were twinkling with mirth though, so Harry wasn't as afraid of the huge being as he thought he should have been. The feel of his magic was totally peaceful and full of comforting love for all creatures, children included, so Harry released the muscles that had unconsciously tensed up and relaxed his head back into the soft pillows that were propping his head and shoulders up.

"Um, do I know you sir?" Harry managed to squeak out, still craning his neck up to see the hair covered face.

The huge man's beard shook as a hearty laugh sounded from deep within its depths, while the dark eyes crinkled up with mirth, his belly shaking much as the Santa's he had seen on the telly. "Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Groundskeeper heh at Hogwar's, Harry. At yeh se'vice, laddie!" The booming voice matched the enormous size of the man but his magic radiated peace so Harry just stuck out his hand in greeting.

"How do you do, Hagrid, my name is Harry Po…uh Grimm. Please to meet you, sir." His felt a momentary flush of pride that his voice was steady without even a slight tremor at meeting the man he thought was simply too big to be allowed.

Hagrid took his offered hand in just two of his sausage like fingers and gently shook his hand, careful not to injure the tiny boy that still looked too pale and sickly against the stark white sheets of the infirmary bed.

"Yeh, godfa'ver thot yeh migh' lik' comp'ny whilst they was all gone. Well, I know Pr'fes'r Flitwick be here…well jus' an'ther one..." Hagrid seemed almost embarrassed to speak and looked down at his huge dirt covered brown boots.

"Glad to meet you, Hagrid. I'd like to get to know you too." Harry smiled a wide grin at the two wizards that stood in such stark contrast, thinking what his Aunt Petunia would say about such 'unnatural freaks' if they had showed up in Little Whinging. His shoulder shook as he imagined the horrified look that would twist his aunt's face and how purple his Uncle Vernon would get.

Professor Flitwick waved a wand and conjured a really tall upholstered chair for himself and a very wide loveseat for Hagrid before pulling out the familiar storybook about Merlin and offering to read it to the still recovering Harry in between telling the rapt boy tales about his father and mother's time as students.

* * *

Petunia looked ashen gray as she stood beside her corpulent husband, her pale colorless face looking just as awful in the shapeless orange prison jumpsuit as her husbands deep purple face looked in his matching clothes. His face and neck clashed terribly with the loud orange, his belly hanging out between the skin tight drawstring pants and the three sizes too small top that stretched across his enormous flabby belly in protest. Vernon had been threatened by his own barrister, Granville Heeder that if Vernon so much as opened his mouth during the indictment hearings he would quit and leave the two to the mercies of the public defenders. So Vernon stood, his teeth and his fists clenched so tight both his lips and his knuckles were white with tension.

The judge looked down his bulbous nose and over his bifocals at the couple being indicted in his courtroom and sighed inwardly as he read the long and very technical legal brief detailing the charges against the two. 'God how I hate child abusers, especially their own flesh and blood,' he thought as he read, the horrors of their nephews treatment clear even through the dry legalese of the documents.

"Vernon and Petunia Dursley you stand accused of custodial interference, failure to file the proper papers, failure to provide the proper medical care, multiple counts of child abuse, child neglect, reckless endangerment, depraved indifference homicide; a level of indifference so depraved that it led to the incidence of your nephews tragic death; that your failure to take even minimal appropriate actions directly resulted in the death of young Mr. Harry James Potter. You are also being charged with failure to provide necessary treatment for your son, Dudley Dursley, child abuse and aiding and abetting in the delinquency of a minor child, Dudley Dursley. How do you plead?"

The judge looked first at a very white faced Petunia who was obviously trying hard not to faint. "N-n-not g-g-guilty, your Honor." She managed to stammer out. The judge turned his gaze on the obviously irate Vernon and tapped his pen on his desk in irritation at the man's snide look. "Not guilty your Honor." The words seemed to leave a foul taste in the man' mouth as if he couldn't even imagine why anyone would care what he had done to his wife's nephew.

The judge banged his wooden gavel on a small square of wood that had indentations from being banged thousands of times over the long years and announced. "So noted, accused are remanded into custody until trial. Bail is denied as Mr. Dursley is judged a danger to the community and a flight risk. Mrs. Dursley is to undergo psychiatric evaluation before the trial begins, counselors. Dismissed," without another word, the two Dursleys were summarily escorted back to their dingy cells, their lives would never be the same again.

* * *

In a twist of fate, the funeral for young 'Harry James Potter' was being held at the same time as the indictments against the Dursleys were being filed. Since the whole Hogwarts group wouldn't fit in Arabella's small car, Albus had borrowed a stretch limo and liveried driver from the Ministry for Magic, after all being the Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot did have some privileges to go along with all the bureaucratic nightmares and frequently virulent headaches.

The long black car pulled up in front of the imposing brick Guildford Cathedral in a long spot reserved with orange traffic cones for the immediate family. Huge crowds of people trampled the manicured lawns pushing to crowd into the velvet ropes that protected the wide cement walk and steps that led up the gently sloping extensive grounds to the massive wooden doors of the cathedral, hoping to be allowed into the towering edifice, but there were too many mourners for even the large historic church to hold so many people so they simply stood; flowers, stuffed animals and candles in many hands as they watched the strange procession of the small boy's family walk the long sloping sidewalk up to the church.

Albus had dressed once again in the outfit that Arabella had shown him from the muggle catalog and Minerva clung to his arm, dressed formally in a sweeping black crepe dress, her head covered primly with a small hat its black veil covered her face. Sirius and Remus had real muggle black suits that Remus had procured for them in London the day before. Poppy had a deep navy blue knee length dress with a full skirt and a wide white belt that matched her painfully pointed shoes and square handbag which she had clutched tightly to her chest as she followed the Headmaster and Deputy Headmaster between the long velvet ropes that lined either side of the walkway. Severus Snape looked like everyone's image of a bitter old bachelor uncle. His mouth tightly pursed as he glared at the huge muggle crowds on either side of them, muttering incoherently under his breath about how if they cared so much for a poor abused child they should have shown that care a long time ago. 'Hypocrites…" he could be heard to mutter several times on the long walk. Many of the waiting crowd instinctively flinched away and backed up from the man's smoldering anger.

Arabella had a dark grey two piece suit with a frilly white cotton blouse that was probably fashionable fifteen years ago when she had purchased it, but it was certainly adequate for the occasion and no one remarked upon it, she had even bought a new pair of black flats, leaving her beloved carpet slippers at home for once.

The seven were greeted at the entrance by an usher wearing a dark grey suit and formal white suede gloves who led them somberly up to the very front of the overflowing cathedral and guided them onto the very front row. Harry's small white casket stood on a cloth covered table, the shiny surface almost completely hidden by the sprays of colorful flowers. There were hundreds more arrangements situated across the front railing on either side of the alter, and both sides down the ornate wooden walls. Organ music played softly in the background and a low hum of quiet voices filled the open beamed room.

The music swelled to a crescendo before fading into the background at the arrival of the minister, his black robes covered in a white surplice; a large and jeweled golden cross hung around his neck and halfway down his chest. He stood behind the alter, waiting only a moment for everyone to be still.

He opened a very large bible and began to read, his voice solemn and grave. "'I am the resurrection and the life,' says the Lord. 'Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.'"

The ceremony was long but somehow uplifting as the massive group sang hymns, the minister gave a short summary of Harry's life and then read several comforting psalms to the unnaturally still congregation. The witches and wizards followed along with the masses when they alternately kneeled for prayer and then stood to sing from well worn red leather hymnals, but none of them could really say they remembered much of the long service.

After the Lord's Prayer was recited by everyone both in the cathedral and the quietly waiting overflow of mourners outside, a black suited usher helped Albus and Minerva to their feet so that they could walk past the closed coffin and pay their last respects to their great grandson, his smiling face shining from the enlarged picture of the laughing boy hugging his dog's neck in a gesture of pure joy that Arabella had taken at his birthday just months before, peeking out through a spray of white lilies and baby's breath. Remus helped Sirius, the whole experience was too much for Sirius' frayed nerves; he knew it was an empty coffin but it could so easily have been filled that the poor man broke down in genuine heartbreaking tears. Severus, Poppy and Arabella followed; heads bowed and somber and then each row of mourners was invited up to walk past the tiny white coffin and then out a side door.

The Hogwarts seven had been led past the coffin and then into a side room to wait for the mourners to finish giving their last respects before the coffin would be released to them for internment in their family graveyard in their ancestral manor. In actual fact, they would be apparating home after a small 'obliviate' to the funeral van driver. Minerva gratefully accepted a cup of hot tea from the minister as she sat; her back rigidly straight as she waited for the whole miserable ordeal to finish.

* * *

Glynnis had used an entire pocket pack of tissues from her seat halfway back from the poor family but she was unable to push her way close enough to even say a short word to any of them. She sighed and made her way slowly back toward the bus stop, she had known better than to try to drive to the memorial, traffic and parking was much worse than a football game. Just as she was walking the last half block in the still quiet crowd she looked up and spotted a familiar face. She tried to wave at the distraught man being helped into the long black limousine by his ill looking friend, but she was certain the grey eyes were only seeing images in his own mind. She twisted the last shredded tissue in her sweaty hand and turned away to follow the shuffling crowd, resigned in her failure to offer condolences and comfort to the odd family of the little boy that had so touched her heart.

* * *

The driver of the limo had stopped once the crowds had disappeared, helping Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall out as the others climbed out the other door. With a quick look around the alley they had pulled into, the seven disappeared with soft pops and the driver shook his head, took off his cap, shrunk the limo into a toy sized model and disapperated himself, back to his job at the ministry.

* * *

Hagrid had left before the group arrived back at the infirmary but Filius was watching over the once again soundly sleeping child, his face softly smiling at the son of one of his favorite students. He wondered fondly if the child would be as remarkable at charms as his mother had been as he turned to watch the tired group enter the large white ward. Poppy pulled her wand and quickly strode professionally over to the lone occupied bed to check on her small charge.

"How did it go, Albus? Will there be any more questions from the Muggles?" Filius squeaked softly.

Albus tiredly waved his wand, conjuring a circle of comfortable chairs which everyone sank gratefully into. A soft clap and a beaming and bowing house elf appeared and promptly disappeared with a loud crack only to reappear momentarily with a large tray balanced with both hands of the top of his head. He waited just a moment for Minerva to transfigure a small nightstand into a large tea table before setting down his burden and leaving with another loud pop.

When everyone had been served with tea and a selection of dainty sandwiches and tasty pastries, Albus took a deep, cleansing breath and looked at his colleagues. "Anyone foresee any complications to the events today?"

Sirius stuffed a whole cucumber sandwich into his mouth, chewed a few times and swallowed. "Have you fed the story to the Daily Prophet so there won't be any retaliation against the Muggles, not that I would mind a little justice for the Dursleys after all, but I don't want open warfare because of what happened to Harry."

"Yes, must protect our…precious…baby boy, mustn't we?" Severus spoke sarcastically as he shuddered at Sirius' lack of table manners.

Remus put a restraining arm across Paddy's chest as Minerva scolded the dark wizard. "Really, Severus even you could show a little compassion for a child who almost died at the hands of his bullying cousin just four short days ago. It wouldn't kill you to at least act as if you are human." Her eyes flashed with a little bit of her feline animagus as she practically hissed in anger.

"Oh, but what's the… joy in that?" He flicked a well practiced eyebrow up as he looked down his overly large nose. Even Poppy turned around to glare at him now, but it was Albus who stopped the bickering. "Now, now children we have much to accomplish and your little spat isn't getting anything done now is it, Severus?'

Snape dropped his head slightly, his greasy hair hiding his face as he acquiesced. "As you say, Albus."

"Now, to you're question, there will be full coverage of the memorial in tomorrows Daily Prophet, some tasteful photographs of the ceremonies and the reverence of the muggles about what has happened as well as a brief explanation of what is likely to happen to Harry's relatives so there shouldn't be any backlash. There will also be a story about how Harry has been placed in a very safe location with an appropriate Wizarding family so that he may recover from his injuries and begin his schooling. If we find that is not sufficient we might, perhaps send them a follow up story in a few days after Harry has recovered sufficiently for a carefully posed picture or two."

The group finished their tea and went their separate ways, Severus descending to the dungeons and grading the massive stack of potions essays that had been shuffled aside to brew the necessary potions for the boy's recovery. Minerva and Albus had similar tasks that had suffered from the hectic panic of the last few days. Arabella was going to shut up her house in Little Whinging and move back to Hogsmeade since there was no reason for her to stay there and she wanted to return to her sister's home once more. In a burst of either brilliance or insanity, no one was taking bets on which one, Albus had decided to have the Hogwarts house elves remodel and refurbish the Shrieking Shack as a small but comfortable house for Sirius, Harry and Remus to live in for the next few years.

It was close to the castle and well protected, Harry would stay in the castle on the nights of the full moon and Paddy and Moony would roam the Forbidden Forest or hole up in their house depending upon the weather. So the two men spent the long afternoon talking over the floor plans and furnishings of their new home as they watched the even breathing of Harry as he slept in a deep, healing sleep.

* * *

Albus and Minerva were sitting at breakfast the next morning peacefully enjoying breakfast as the students chattered and ate at their house tables. Severus was as usual, scowling at every House table but his own when the first wave of post owls swooped down into the Great Hall. A smattering of personal letters, a fair number of Daily Prophets and a surprisingly large amount of smoking red envelopes were clutched and tied on the huge flock of owls streaming in through the enchanted windows, almost completely blocking the view of the outside sky with their madly flapping wings and churning bodies.

Owl after owl dove down, dropping smoking Howlers on the staff table, Albus' lap and even on his head and in his beard. After delivery, the owls hooted loudly and took off again in a deafeningly loud noise of wings flapping and screeching beaks. Albus sat in shock, barely visible through the smoking mass as they began to explode in a brilliant eruption of cacophony and blaring howls of outrage and disbelief. Envelopes exploded in massive clouds of red confetti, the multitude of voices blurred and incomprehensible, no single angry missive distinguishable in the overall dissonance that was deafening. Every student, every staff member and even the house ghosts froze in disbelief as the venerable and usually loved Headmaster was literally buried in Howlers from distraught members of the wizarding community.

Snape couldn't help it, he hid his mouth behind a potion stained hand, his shoulders shaking as he snorted, trying to hold back his laughter at the sight. He choked, snorted several more times before he gave up and threw his head back in the biggest fit of laughter ever seen from the normally acidic man. Every student and staff member was frozen in utter shock at first the sight of the Headmaster being bombarded by Howlers and then the unbelievable and unnatural spectacle of Severus Snape laughing so hard there were tears running down his pale cheeks.

It was only moments, though it seemed much longer, before Hagrid and Minerva began to chuckle and then snort with repressed mirth. The rest of the staff was trying to maintain their decorum but it was a losing battle and by the time the entire staff table was echoing in laughter, the students had begun to join in, slowly and softly at first, but gaining momentum with each passing second until the entire throng in the Great Hall was laughing uncontrollably, even the still buried Headmaster.

* * *

AN: Next chapter Harry begins to walk again and gets to explore the castle a little before moving to the Shrieking Shack with Paddy and Moony. For those of you wondering where I came up with the names, they are all from an actual Baby Names site on the web, even Albus' bizarre suggestions, I kid you not. 


	10. Chapter 10: Moving

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

AN: I have no idea what happened with the missing 'e's in the last chapter, but I have reposted it with the corrections. I do have very little use of the last two fingers on my left hand so I am sort of an eight fingered typist which makes for some interesting errors, but missing 'e's aren't usually one of them.

Chapter 10: Moving

The morning after Albus had been inundated with howlers from irate members of the wizarding community for his disastrous decision to place Harry Potter with his abusive muggle relatives, Poppy finally decided that Harry's right leg had healed enough and that the bone was now sturdy enough for him to begin to walk again. She was a little leery about the damage to his spinal cord, but the benefits of bearing weight on the healing bone outweighed her lingering doubts about his spine.

So after a hearty breakfast Paddy was walking in his dog form with Harry on one side, his little arm encircling the furry neck as he stood beside his new dad, waiting for the momentary dizziness to pass before walking down the long ward to a waiting Remus who was preparing a nice warm bath for the five year old. After all, cleaning spells only made a body hygienic; it didn't really take the place of a nice soaking bath. Poppy stood facing the two, she walked slowly backwards in front of the two wizards, not interfering but available if they needed her as she analyzed the boy's gait after his recovery.

"Take your time, Harry we aren't in a hurry. The bath will stay warm for you." Poppy said as Harry looked over at her, worried his slow pace would make the woman mad at him. Paddy wagged his tail and licked his son's face to reinforce what Poppy was telling the boy. He was having a horrible time not being a mother hen after the horrific events of the last week. He had vowed to never let Harry out of his sight ever again, well at least not any more than he had to.

Harry shuffled his right leg forward, unable to really lift his foot up off of the stone floor very much. He leaned his weight onto his good left foot and then hesitantly leaned forward, reluctantly putting pressure on his right foot. He looked up at Paddy, his face beaming. "It doesn't hurt, Paddy! It's weak and shaky but it doesn't hurt at all." His face was lit with wonder as he took another small step forward, relishing the feeling of being upright and walking again.

Paddy barked with laughter, his tail wagging madly as Poppy smiled at the two. "That's the beauty of magic! Now let's get a move on, your Uncle Remus is waiting and so is that bath."

Harry managed to make it all the way down the long hall, though he never managed to completely lift his right foot off of the floor. As he languished in the hot tub, watched over by a very cautious Remus, Sirius went to Poppy's office to discuss Harry's progress with the medi-witch. "He's limping pretty badly, Poppy. And he can't seem to lift that right foot off of the ground at all. Will that go away?" He looked anxiously at the woman.

Poppy nodded while smiling gently at the worried father in front of her. "Yes, he will recover; the limping and his not being able to raise his foot, is because of the lingering nerve damage to his spine, but he will be getting a regular dose of nerve regenerative potions for at least a week more. He is just too young and too small for the regular potions and much too small to withstand the normal healing spells. He couldn't handle that much healing magic without overloading his own developing magic. I will give you a list of exercises for him to continue to do and he will be fully recovered in just a few short weeks. You will be able to put this away behind you like a bad nightmare soon, I promise Sirius." She reached behind her desk and pulled out a small rowan wood staff that was barely waist high to Sirius. It was carved with a complicated design of magical runes and fanciful magical creatures with a rounded bulb on the top. "Let him use this staff for a while to help his balance. I don't know exactly where it came from but the Headmaster sent it down with a house elf for him."

Sirius took the beautiful staff, a warm feeling of peace and power surged through him when the bare flesh of his hand encircled the polished wood, a feeling of agelessness and awe sweeping through him at the feeling. "What is this, Poppy? Did you feel that surge of magic when you touch it?"

"Yes, I did and Albus assures me it will help young Harry as he recovers and then grows. He said he is to use it instead of a wand for focusing his magic and that he will talk with you about it in a month or two, but he would like for Harry to keep it with him at all times in the meantime."

Sirius turned at a shout from the bathroom and said goodbye to Poppy as he went to help Remus get Harry out of the tub and dressed. He handed the staff to Harry after the small boy was dressed in a warm set of everyday robes and blinked at the sight. Harry had instinctively grabbed the polished wood to his chest with both hands and he was bathed in a golden bubble of magic that seemed to sink into his skin as the two men watched in stunned silence. Harry grinned, his smile splitting his face in two as he thanked Sirius for the staff. "Wow Paddy thanks. It's wonderful and I feel so much better now. It took all of the tiredness away. Can I use it to go for a walk now? I've been in bed too long and the castle is so big, can I go explore with you, can I, can we please?" His voice bubbled with happiness and excitement as the two men regained their composure and began chuckling at the eagerness of the boy.

Remus ruffled the already bath messy black hair that remained in the front of Harry's head as he looked over at his friend for his opinion. Seeing Sirius' smiling face, he ran back to grab a pair of small shoes from beside Harry's bed and brought them back so that Harry could put them on. "If we can sneak past Madame Pomfrey without her noticing we can." Sirius whispered as he tied Harry's shoes on tightly.

"I heard that!" came a sharp voice from within Pomfrey's office, followed by a knowing chuckle. "But you can go for a while Harry as long as one of those two miscreants carries you if you get too tired… and no climbing stairs! Sirius or Remus can carry you up and down for now!"

The three were laughing as the left the hospital wing, Harry clutching the staff in his right hand as it leant strength to his weak leg, off to explore.

* * *

The students kept giving the three odd glances as they noticed them walking the halls, but since they were rushed on their way between classes, no one really paid too much attention to the trio who were walking slowly, the child with the chin high staff plodding determinedly in between the two hovering men. Harry reached up for Paddy's neck as they reached the outside doors, anxious for some fresh air after his enforced week inside the stuffy overly white infirmary.

Sirius swept him up in his arms, settling the boy's bottom on his strong arm as he felt Harry's arms clench tightly around his neck, his small head swiveling madly from side to side as he tried to take in all of the sights at once.

Remus laughed at the two as they made their way down to an invitingly spread blanket with a large wicker basket set out on it. Albus Dumbledore was leaning languidly back on one long arm, his long legs spread out in front of him as he threw pieces of bread at the bobbing head of the giant squid. Sirius gently sat Harry down on his feet so that he could walk the last couple of feet to the waiting old man. Harry sat down on one corner of the blanket, carefully keeping his beloved Paddy between him and the very old man that looked vaguely familiar to him.

Harry reached over and tugged at Paddy's dark blue robe and pulled it, leaning close so he could whisper in his ear when Paddy bent towards him. "Is he Merlin?" was the boy's whispered question.

Paddy sat up and chuckled softly while rubbing the back of Harry's head where his hair was growing out and making it feel soft and fuzzy. "No, pup he's not Merlin, though he's almost that old I think."

Albus leaned around Sirius so that he could see directly into the face of the small boy that was burying his face into the side of his guardian for protection from the unknown and obviously very old man.

"Ah, it's good to see you up and about, Harry. I will assume from the expression on your face that you do not remember me from the last week. Let me introduce myself once again, I am Albus Dumbledore and I am the Headmaster here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please, gentlemen, let's eat this lovely picnic that the elves have provided for us and then we can discuss some of our plans later while Harry feeds the swans."

The three wizards sat back, idly watching as Harry sat on the edge of the lake, throwing chunks of bread at the rapidly gathering flock of hooting swans that were swimming madly in front of him.

"Now, what did you need to speak with us about Albus?" Remus spoke first since Sirius was still eating a last piece of treacle tart with great relish.

"I think it would be wise of you three to move to the Shrieking Shack immediately rather than return young Harry to the infirmary." He raised an age spotted and gnarled hand to forestall their objections. "Yes, I know but I will convince Poppy myself of the necessity." The two wizards looked relieved; Poppy in full medi-witch mode could frighten anyone.

"We have been lucky so far that no one has needed her services for more than a few moments, but that cannot continue and we do not want the rumor mill spreading the identity of Harry any more than it already has. The elves have made the shack habitable for you and it is close enough that Poppy could be immediately available if necessary until Harry's current series of potions is completed. They have even made an exercise room for the boy to regain some of his strength and practice his walking." He turned to look directly at Sirius as he continued. "I need you to go this afternoon to Gringotts. I have 'owled' them to prepare a listing of both Potter and Black properties for you to pick up. I need you to choose which property you wish to live at for the next few years." He turned to look back at a giggling Harry who was inundated with the very tame swans as they climbed all over themselves and him to get more bread.

"I suspect between the two families there is a suitable property, hopefully somewhere rather isolated with some acreage so that Harry is able to go outside, perhaps learn to fly a broom, and just be free to explore as he grows older. When you have chosen, I will cast any new wards needed, so chose your secret keeper. Do you still have house elves? Or do the Potters?"

"I wouldn't trust any Black house elf still living. Kreacher was the last one at my mother's decrepit old house and he was quite mad and totally evil. I know the ancestral Potter Manor house would work quite well. Lily and James didn't want to live there with just the two of them; and the memories of James' parents and grandparents living there with him as a young boy were still painful to James. And then once Harry was born, they thought the small cottage at Godric's Hollow would be easier to hide, since very few people even knew of its existence." Sirius' voice was tinged with bitterness and betrayal as he thought of his friends and their ultimate betrayal by their friend Peter Pettigrew. He looked around Albus to Remus and spoke hesitantly.

"Remus, I can think of no one I would trust more…would you secret keep for us and live with us? I want you to be there for Harry and the Potter Manor is old enough it still has dungeons that we could set up for your 'furry little problem' so it would be perfectly safe. I believe the Potter elves would still be keeping up the property, it's only been four years since James last checked, but I seem to recall him telling me that he had given them contingency plans in case anything happened to him and Lily."

Remus stood up and walked around the blanket so that he could grab Sirius in a warm embrace before pounding him on the back. His eyes were suspiciously wet as he pulled back and choked out. "Of course I'll be your secret keeper," his eyes glinted with a feral golden light as he continued. "And I give my vow that I will die before betraying you or my cub."

Albus stood up with a spry grace that belied his many years and with a flick of his wand, the remains of the sumptuous picnic flew back into the basket before it disappeared. "I shall send an elf down to you in the shack then and inform Madame Pomfrey of your new residence. I suspect you will be receiving regular visits from her, so I have set up a temporary floo connection between the shack and the infirmary. The password is 'safe haven' for the infirmary and 'Paddy's place' for the shack. It is not connected to any other floo so you will have to apperate to Diagon Alley or take the public floo in the Three Broomsticks. Good afternoon gentlemen and let me know at your earliest convenience when to go set the wards." With his hands clasped behind his back, the ancient wizard strolled amiably toward the castle, humming an unrecognizable tune as he strolled along.

"Hey, pup; are you ready to go and look at your new home?" Sirius called to Harry.

"A new home for us, really Paddy, we don't have to go back to the Dursleys? Where is it, can we go now? Is Uncle Moony coming too?" Harry was so excited he forgot to wait for the answers.

Sirius picked up Harry under the arms, swung him around in the air and ducked his head so that when he stood up, Harry was sitting on his shoulders. Remus grabbed the madly swinging staff before someone got hit with it and the three took off down towards Hogsmeade, laughing and enjoying the fall afternoon.

* * *

Every day, Paddy would get Harry up and dressed while Remus would clean up the small house, he was much better at household charms than Paddy was and took only moments to straighten rooms, make beds and clean clothes. The first hour after breakfast Harry would spend in the exercise room, carefully stretching and strengthening his spine and legs, a little bit more every day. Then he would have math, reading and science lessons with Remus while Paddy would disappear for a short time. He always told Remus he was checking with the Potter elves on the renovations and choosing new furniture and clothing for when they moved to the Manor, but Remus had his suspicions about his old friend and his mysterious disappearances, and he thought they might include a very pretty young nurse and her six year old daughter, but he had no concrete proof. After lunch and a short nap, Harry would listen to the two men tell stories about wizarding history and the ceremonies and rituals that made up so much of wizarding culture, followed by quiet activities that allowed Harry to rest and yet strengthened the deepening bond of trust and love that was growing between the three.

And then a week after they had moved into the shack, Albus came to visit with Poppy as she did her daily evaluation of Harry's progress. Sirius was gone on another of his missions so Albus pulled Remus to the side to talk to him out of Harry's hearing. "There have been several mysterious happenings this past week involving Severus and some…unusual…episodes. Would you, perhaps, know anything about them?"

"What happenings, what's going on, Albus?" The confusion on the man's face was genuine and no guile was present so Albus ruled out Remus' participation in the pranks and settled all of his suspicions on Sirius. "Well, first Severus' robes shrank while he was wearing them in class so his legs and feet were clearly visible, including a pair of knee high white socks with quacking ducks swimming upon them that he swears he doesn't even own. Then all of the bubotuber pus in the student's stores was changed to mimbulus mimbletonia pus which caused every second year Slytherin and Gryffindor's cauldron to emit clouds of noxious smelling purple smoke that cannot be banished, leaving the dungeons smelling horrifically of lavender. And then just today, Professor Snape's hair magically arranged itself into long braids with multiple pink bows on it just as he entered the Great Hall for breakfast. And none of the students seem to know who is doing the pranking; while Severus is getting quite irate and threatening great bodily harm as well as several rather ingenious transfigurations to the perpetrators if he catches them."

Remus had lost his battle to keep a straight face and was grinning from ear to ear while trying hard not to snort in the Headmaster's face. "Ah…well…no…no I don't know how that had happened; although I would be very interested in obtaining any photos….no I don't suppose anyone thought to…but it would be nice…" Remus was still trying hard to still his laughter as Albus' eyes twinkled faster and faster.

"I will, however, speak with Sirius if you like; he has just popped out to check on several very important matters dealing with our upcoming move you know. And I suspect he is checking up on a certain pretty blonde haired muggle nurse but I have no proof of that yet." Albus merely nodded, he had noticed the nurse watching Sirius and he had seen her searching for them after the funeral, he just hadn't been aware that Sirius had noticed as well.

As Poppy finished up, she joined the Headmaster and the two of them floo-ed back to the castle. Remus chuckled to himself over the mental image of Severus Snape decked out in pink bows and braids as he settled a very tired Harry down for his short afternoon nap. He would have to have a very serious talk with his old friend, somehow they would need to make sure the pranks didn't stop when they moved away or Snape would believe he had the proof to retaliate against them.

* * *

Harry had improved with each passing day, his recovery faster and more complete than even Madame Pomfrey had predicted. The Hogwarts elves had done a miraculous job on the interior of the Shrieking Shack, the horrific scars of werewolf occupancy were erased, and the rooms expanded and freshened so that the interior looked like a nicely furnished three bedroom two story house. Meals and snacks appeared with regularity, the same meals that were being served in the Great Hall were delivered by Twinkles, the elf that Albus had loaned to them for their stay. An exercise room next to the eat-in kitchen had been utilized frequently, much too frequently according to Harry, until he could walk without assistance. He still limped slightly on his right leg, and he tired quickly but otherwise he was given a clean bill of health from Poppy after just three weeks.

The outside of the Shrieking Shack had been maintained and all three of the occupants enjoyed howling and making strange noises at night to spook the residents of nearby Hogsmeade, strengthening and renewing the rumors that the place was the most haunted building in Great Britain. Of course, they had to remove the silencing charms that Albus had placed around the building for a short while each night to scream and howl, it wouldn't do to haunt a silenced building after all.

But now the last detail of their move had been executed, their plans had been detailed with the precision of a major military undertaking and Potter Manor had been renovated, repaired and cleaned until it gleamed. There were indeed many Potter house elves that had worked diligently and loyally keeping the ancestral Manor house ready for the next Potter heir and the little beings were literally bouncing with excitement to meet the young master again. And so, the three looked around again at the Shack, making sure that everything had been packed before leaving through the floo to the infirmary for one final check up before moving to their new home.

"Ah, there you are, I was beginning to wonder if you had decided not to move today." They heard as Sirius stood up releasing his tight hold from around Harry's shoulders as they moved to allow Remus to step through after them. Albus stood quietly waiting in Poppy's office, his neon green robes resplendent with orange, blue and yellow flowers. Remus threw up a hand in front of his eyes to protect himself from the glare while Harry giggled and buried his face against his Paddy's side. "Merlin's beard, Albus wherever do you find those things?" Was Sirius' comment before Albus chuckled, and with a flick of his wand he was dressed in a more ordinary bright green robe that was decorated with moving dragons around the bottom hem. "Better?"

Poppy entered the room, having been alerted to their arrival by the whoosh of the floo. "Ah, come for the final check up have you? Well, Harry just come out here and pop up on a bed for me." She stopped just long enough to fetch a small bag and followed the five year old out and over to his favorite bed, the one with the view across the grounds and over the lake with his beloved swans swimming peacefully.

She swished her wand in ever more complicated patterns, then touched the tip to a parchment to record her findings before pulling a chocolate frog package from her pocket and handing it to Harry, who opened it with great relish, tearing the paper in his haste to release his favorite wizarding treat. Poppy sniffed, she would miss the happy and bouncy little boy, but he really had recovered enough to leave, so she turned around and handed the shrunken bag to Sirius. "Here's a selection of potions you might need. I've written out the directions for him and labeled each flask for you. Don't hesitate to floo me if you need anything."

* * *

Remus held Harry close to his chest with one strong arm while the other held tight to the portkey that was taking them on their journey to Potter Manor and their new home. Sirius had hold of the mesh bag that held all of their greatly shrunken belongings as Remus felt his feet touch down sharply on the polished marble entrance way. A sharp intake of breath was his only warning before a swarm of house elves engulfed his knees, every being trying to reach their new master first. Harry was trying to climb Remus like a tree, he had gotten used to one or two house elves, but a wildly milling mass of twenty overly excited and squeaking beings was more than he could handle.

Sirius managed to wade through the small beings and plucked Harry from Remus' head where he had managed to perch himself like some odd living hat. His barking laughter finally caught the attention of the creatures and they backed off, pinching ears, twisting noses and banging their heads on the floor in their self punishments over forgetting proper manners to the new master in their rush to greet the boy they hadn't seen since he was a little baby.

"I's sorry Master Black, Master Potter, we's is so happy to see's you we's is forgetting our's places. So sorry, Master so sorry." A small elf took it upon himself to silence the other elves and spoke softly and contritely.

"It's all right…it just frightened Harry a little bit but he'll be fine now. You are?" Sirius asked the spokes-elf.

"I's is Blinky, Master and I is head elf for the Potter family. We's is awaiting your's orders sir." The knee high being bowed; his floppy ears dragging across the marble floor as he bent in two speaking almost reverently to his new master.

The other elves had arranged themselves into a ragged line and were waiting, the excitement of the afternoon evident as they bounced on their little pointed feet, unable to stand completely still and yet wanting to impress their new Master as much as they could.

"If you could just show us to our rooms so that we might freshen up." Remus' calm baritone helped the little beings to calm down and with a snap of his fingers, Blinkey brought two younger elves forward and they led the trio of wizards up the elegant and very formal grand marble and oak staircase to the deeply carpeted second story and their new rooms.

* * *

AN: The next chapter will be after some time has passed in the story so this was the logical stopping point even though it is somewhat shorter than my usual post. Sorry for the lack of action in this chapter, for some reason it was very difficult to write, it just didn't want to flow at all. So enjoy and the next chapter of YBHYFH is almost done. Remember, reviews feed my muse and keep my fingers madly typing. 


	11. Chapter 11: Life is Never Boring

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

AN: Sorry it has been so long since I have updated this story, my daughter would have been 26 on the 1st and this story is too much of a reminder of how much I still miss her even after two years have passed. So forgive me for the delay. I have gone back and fixed some discrepancies in the last chapter, as well as explained some things a little better so you might want to reread it, but it's not necessary. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement, I appreciate all of you.

AN: For those who have expressed confusion, Mrs. Neely was the muggle teacher and she is an older lady, kind but definitely not Sirius' type. Glynnis Batiste, the I.C.U. nurse, is much younger, very pretty and has a six year old daughter, Marybeth whom she is raising alone.

Chapter 11: Life is Never Boring

As soon as the trio had settled into a familiar routine at the Potter Manor, Sirius had started an owl correspondence with Bill and Charley Weasley who were Gryffindor students in fifth and third year respectively. He had recruited them to continue the pranks on Severus Snape so that the dour and bitter portions master could not prove that it had been Sirius all along, no matter how much he believed him guilty. They told Sirius to never let on about the ongoing pranking to their younger brother Percy since the first year was well on his way to becoming a rule spouting pompous prefect.

Bill and Charlie were more than happy to continue the odd little pranks as long as they didn't actually hurt the man, as neither one of them could stand the sarcastic Professor who always picked on their house no matter what they did. Sirius would send a Potter elf who would sometimes manage to slip a potion into the man's tea, he devised new spells with odd effects that he would cast on some innocuous little object that the boys could leave unobtrusively near where Snape would pass or under the table at the Great Hall where he would sit, and he even sent several person specific spells that could be cast ahead of time on doorways the unsuspecting victim would pass through.

So about once a month poor Professor Snape would find himself speaking in rhymes or in Shakespearean couplets, skipping down the hall while singing George Gershwin show tunes, or being unable to drink anything without it dribbling down his chin and onto his chest. He glared, he snarled and he investigated but he never found the culprit or culprits. Even his passive scanning of the young minds of his students didn't reveal the miscreants since they actually weren't doing the actual pranking; Sirius was so they didn't feel guilty. A deep scan using the actual Legilimens spell would have proven their culpability, but Severus knew that would definitely cross the line, and even though Albus turned a blind eye to his passive legilimens of the students, he wouldn't allow anything more drastic without definite proof and a very good reason.

* * *

Sirius continued to disappear at fairly regular intervals but he finally admitted to seeing Glynnis and her daughter Marybeth; his face turning red when Remus finally caught him sneaking in late one night smelling of the lovely nurse's distinctive perfume and a smudge of pale pink lipstick still showing with a blush of color on his slightly swollen lips. After ribbing him royally for several very long minutes, Remus just asked him pointedly when he would be bringing the young Muggle and her daughter home to see Harry.

Sirius blushed rather brightly before admitting he hadn't told the nurse that Harry Potter had actually survived and he really didn't know of any way of informing her without revealing the existence of magic and that was specifically proscribed by the Ministry without special permission, which was seldom granted unless he was actually planning on marrying the muggle nurse. So for now, Harry's continued existence would have to remain a secret and Glynnis and Marybeth wouldn't be visiting the Manor anytime soon.

* * *

The trial for the Dursleys had been long and lurid until even the Royal family had taken an interest in the horrific events surrounding the death of the young boy, and the atrocities that came to light at their trial. The Lady Diana had actually appeared one afternoon to witness the testimony of Mrs. Figg in person. Poor Arabella had been so rattled by her presence, or maybe the presence of all of her big and buff body guards, to answer in more than a whisper, but she had been able to relay the poor child's miserable existence properly, and the audio tapes of the tiny little voice talking so matter of fact about being locked up in a boot cupboard for days on end without food left not a single dry eye among the jury and the witnesses in the courtroom.

Petunia's psychological evaluation had revealed deep seated anxieties and an almost psychotic need to be perceived as 'normal' but no real explanation as to how she could treat an innocent baby the way she had; as well as an irrational hatred and jealousy of her sister for being singled out for special schooling. Despite the best effort of her barrister, she was sentenced to ten years in HMP Downview and her parental rights to Dudley were severed.

Vernon had been lambasted by a multitude of prosecution witnesses; his subordinates at Grunnings had multiple stories of his bullying and harassment, his neighbors recounted how he had treated the nephew, as opposed to how he spoiled his son and even encouraged Dudley in bullying other children. The court showed no mercy and sentenced him to the maximum allowed; after reading into the formal record a letter of interest sent by the Queen herself. So Vernon would be locked up in HMP Coldingley for the next twenty years.

Dudley Dursley had been made a ward of the state and committed for long term psychiatric care in a small group facility that would eventually allow him to attend a regular school and perhaps gain some normal social skills; at least that was the long term goals.

* * *

Harry, Paddy and Remus continued to build their little family as the year passed almost in the blink of an eye. Harry had taken to learning magic like a fish to water and since he no longer had to pretend not to be smarter than Dudley, his confidence and self esteem grew gradually but steadily. He continued to absorb all of his subjects at a rate to make a Ravenclaw proud, and Remus was constantly struggling to keep lesson plans ahead of the eager young scholar. Paddy and Remus had even begun to teach Harry muggle meditation techniques and martial arts. The first to prepare him for Occlumency lessons later to protect his mind from Snape's invasion and the meddling of the Headmaster; and the later to first regain his flexibility and strength from his accident, and then to help him gain confidence, and the emotional control that went alongside the meditation techniques.

For Harry's seventh birthday, Remus finally gave into Sirius' nagging and allowed Paddy to give the birthday boy a broom, the poor werewolf wondering if he would need to be confined to St. Mungo's after witnessing the first turbulent lesson. Harry had listened, his mouth split wide in a grin from ear to ear as he practically bounced on the balls of his feet in excitement, waiting with barely contained impatience for the verbal lesson to be over so he could push off and fly.

"Okay, son, just push off gently, not too hard, that's right…take it easy…now lean forward just a little bit…." Sirius was patiently giving directions as Harry floated in the summer sun on the afternoon of his seventh birthday.

"Ya-a-a-a-ho-o-o-o-o" Harry squealed as he took off, the wind blowing his messy hair back out of his face. "Look Remus, look…I'm flying….whee-e-e-e." He leaned over, pushing the youth broom forward until he was flying at its maximum speed after just a few moments of hesitation. "Watch, Paddy…this is so great…yeah!" Harry had managed to finish a rather wobbly loop, before taking off down the garden, gaining confidence with each passing minute. By the end of an hour, Sirius and Remus had joined him in the air and the three were playing catch with a bright red quaffle ball. Harry was catching and throwing the large ball as if he had been flying for years. It would be hard to judge who had the biggest grin, Sirius, Remus or Harry.

The sound of clapping from the ground brought their attention to their invited guests for the afternoon. Albus, Minerva, Hagrid, Poppy, Arabella and Filius had all arrived without the three flyers even noticing them. The three landed their cheeks pink and chafed from the sun and wind. The Potter elves had provided a sumptuous picnic for the birthday boy, they all loved the child that would grow up to be their master one day, but for now, Harry was much more interested in having all twelve of the little creatures as friends and sometimes playmates since the Manor was very isolated even without the new Fidelius charm that had been cast with Moony as the secret keeper.

The afternoon flew by with games and flying but Sirius couldn't help but look wistfully at his son and how well he interacted with all of the adults that were there as if he too was an adult. Harry was missing out on a normal childhood once more and Sirius vowed to do everything he could to change that. Harry deserved to have friends his own age and to play and be a child. As he watched Harry deftly serve huge slices of rich chocolate cake to all of the assembled guests, he vowed to speak with Moony that very night about finding age mates for Harry.

* * *

It had taken a little while to solve all of the logistical problems, but Harry was now attending a small wizarding primary school near Edinburgh. The school drew students from a wide area since transportation was not a problem for anyone with access to the floo network or a reusable portkey. The classes were small and concentrated on wizarding history, herbology, culture and etiquette classes as well as the normal range of muggle subjects like reading, writing and arithmetic. Since most children were just beginning to show the first signs of accidental magic and had no real reserves or control, the magic available to them was severely limited and no class time was wasted on teaching a subject that they felt no child would be able to do.

Harry was delighted to have friends to play with, there were a mixed bag of children that attended, some purebloods, some halfbloods and even a very few Muggleborns that had exhibited enough magic to register in the Hogwarts' Register already. Harry played happily with the Weasley boys; Sirius was particularly fond of the twins even though they were two years older than Harry. He also liked a shy, nervous boy named Neville, a quiet confident dark haired boy named Blaise and an exuberant, full of mischief slightly older boy named Terry Boot. The girls were beneath the boys' notice at that age, but Harry had noticed the youngest Weasley and thought she wasn't _too_ bad… at least for a girl.

* * *

As the little family grew stronger and more comfortable with each other, Harry's self esteem and sense of self worth grew, as well as his confidence in his own abilities. He loved to read; almost as much as flying, well all most as much. His control over his conscious use of magic grew as he was able to master the concentration and self awareness necessary from his ongoing meditation lessons. He was progressing slowly but surely through the levels of his martial arts training. He finally lost the last lingering limp from his badly damaged right leg as well as the full range of flexibility and strength in his back.

Sirius and Remus began taking Harry to visit more and more of the world, both Wizarding and Muggle after he reached eight years old and finally gained control over his accidental magical outbursts. It would have been too difficult to explain to the hotel staff if every vegetable in the kitchen disappeared simply because Harry didn't want to eat anything but meat and potatoes; or that Remus was totally blue in color for an entire day when Harry was mad at his tutor for giving him a pop quiz on history instead of letting Harry study ahead for it.

But when Harry had managed to go over three months without exploding anything, turning someone unexpected colors or changing the food on his plate into something he thought more palatable, the trio began their tour with Diagon Alley and London. Sirius had gotten special Ministry permission for Harry to get his first wand at Olivander's and so on a bright summer day, just after Harry turned nine the trio stepped through the magical barrier and Harry got his first look at the wonder of Diagon Alley. Sirius laughed and swept Harry up, throwing the gobsmacked boy over his shoulder when Harry suddenly stopped; his mouth and eyes wide open as his feet stopped moving.

"Wicked! Can we go exploring all the shops? Can we Paddy, can we?" Harry's voice cracked with excitement as his head swiveled back and forth, trying in vain to look at everything and everyone all at once.

Remus reached up and ruffled the dark hair, marveling once again at how well the curse scar had been removed by Muggle doctors doing something called a 'skin graft' three years ago. A small smooth patch that was hardly noticeable was all that remained of the distinctive mark and allowed Harry to live in peace without everyone gawking at him. No one at his school or in their travels knew the boy as anything other than Harry Grimm.

"Perhaps we can talk old Paddy into a huge sundae at Florien's later if you behave, brat."

"Hey, Uncle Moony, I haven't done anything today!" Harry was outraged at his beloved uncle's implication.

The two men laughed as they had answered identically and simultaneously, "YET!"

Harry's neck was starting to hurt from trying to imitate an owl before the three reached the little shop labeled Olivander's Wands so he was surprised to be even more astonished upon walking through a set of very powerful wards as Paddy pushed him into the shop in front of him. He turned around and looked directly at where an odd little man with eyes like full moons was looking directly at him in surprise.

"Harry Potter…I wasn't expecting you for two more years!"

Sirius and Remus both pulled their wands, Remus searching the small dark shop for the presence of anyone else, while Sirius looked out the grimy windows and then pulled the shades down to keep anyone from looking in.

Harry looked puzzled at the bizarre man, "My name's Harry Grimm and this is my dad, Patrick and my Uncle Remus. You must be mistaken." Harry was adamant and very outspoken.

Mr. Olivander gulped visibly and raised a gnarled old finger to gently remove Harry's unruly black fringe from the right side of his forehead. He drew his breath sharply inward with a hiss of surprise and visibly paled. "I…I…that's never happened before." He bowed deeply, his eyes never leaving the face of the small boy looking at him so solemnly. "I thought you were someone else. The wards around my shop help me to identify and evaluate every witch or wizard who enters. And they have never failed before. I am so sorry Mr. Grimm, is it?" Sirius looked deeply into the old man's eyes before turning to Remus and holding a silent conversation consisting of raised eyebrows, shrugs and hand gestures before turning back to the old man and nodding at him.

"You were correct, Mr. Olivander. This is Harry Potter, but you must realize why we are using aliases. I am afraid we shall require a wizard's oath to never divulge our identity to anyone until we return to the public eye; or we shall have to obliviate you after we are done. It is up to you to choose, though I will tell you I am Sirius Black and a fully trained and certified Auror and Obliviater so either choice will be perfectly safe to you." Sirius looked grimly at the man as he watched him make his decision.

"I am perfectly willing to swear an oath, I never divulge my customer's private information anyway, but I do recognize your need for secrecy and will abide by your action." Mr. Olivander swept both arms wide as he vowed to keep silent and then began the laborious job of finding the right wand for the very talented and strong young boy.

The pile of tried and wrong wands grew and grew until Harry could no longer see much of anything over the pile lying like scattered pick up sticks on the long glass countertop. "I am sorry, child that this is taking so long. I have never had such difficulty in finding the perfect wand for someone. Perhaps…." His voice trailed off as he steepled his fingers under his chin, deep in thought.

Harry was getting tired of spending so long in the creepy little shop with the strangely odd man so he just opened his own senses up, raised both hands to shoulder height and called. "The magic that fits to me… shall come to me…now." He thought hard, his eyes scrunched closed in concentration. A dusty box that was wedged down near the floor at the very back of the narrow building started to shake, the stacks of boxes piled high on top of it falling to the right and left as the shaking grew stronger. With a final shudder that dislodged a shower of millennial old dust and grime, the wooden box flew straight to Harry, hitting him in the chest when he forgot to open his eyes to see if anything had answered his calling. "Ooof, ow that hurts." Harry had caught the long thin box with reflexes honed from years of martial arts training and rubbed his bruised chest with his free hand.

Mr. Olivander, Sirius, and Remus had matching gobsmacked expressions as they looked down at Harry who was trying to wipe some of the dust off of the old carved box with the front of his shirt before Olivander hastily grabbed a frayed but clean white hand towel and took the box from the suddenly complaining nine year old. "Hey that's mine…it wants me…it said so!"

Olivander's hands stopped their cleaning as what the child had said registered with him. "You heard something? The wand spoke to you?" Remus had knelt down next to Harry and was brushing the caked dirt off of the front of his shirt. "What happened, Harry? How do you…"

Sirius had flopped backward onto a rickety old chair that was placed to the side of the countertop and rubbed his eyes with a weary hand, his expression swiftly changing from surprise to concern. "Is that wand cursed, Olivander? Could something dark have affected Harry?"

Olivander finished wiping the dirt and dust off of the intricately carved oak presentation case and smiled in wonder and awe. "Oh no, Mr. Black…I can guarantee that nothing dark has affected young Mr. Potter here. This wand has been in my family's possession for over nine hundred years, waiting for the magical heir that was prophesized so many centuries ago." He pulled his own wand and with a few deft flicks the shop was closed, the door locked and several very comfortable chairs had appeared along with an impressive tea service complete with steaming tea pot and assorted sweets. "Please sit down while I tell you a story that is passed down from Olivander to Olivander and known only to our own family." He motioned with the hand not clutching the box reverently to his chest at the empty chairs.

* * *

He began his story, his voice soft and cracked with age. "After the founding of Hogwarts, the school grew and prospered for many long and happy years, until a disagreement between two of the Founder's over the admittance of Muggleborn students grew more and more heated and finally exploded into arguments and then physical fights until one Founder, Salazar Slytherin was defeated soundly by Godric Gryffindor and the three remaining Founders banished him evermore and forever from the castle. The wards were reinforced and set against him and any of his descendants that wished harm upon the school or its inhabitants.

No one knows what triggered the original disagreement or why it eventually came to blows and then swords, but the ending had been foretold by Rowena Ravenclaw, a talented and accurate seer. When Salazar was banished, he vowed to return and turn the castle he had once called home to rubble and dust; and swore upon his life and his magic that he, or someone of his line, would have complete and absolute revenge upon the three remaining Founders and all of their descendants.

As the three were gathering up the belongings that Salazar had been forced to leave, Rowena happened to pick up a small vial of some unknown liquid. She went into a trance and spoke thusly,

_A hundred generations will pass as the darkness spreads_

_Blight upon the land, the light will dim but not die._

_Until the innocent child, the champion is born_

_To push back the darkness and bring light to fair Scotland again._

_A babe in his mother's arms he will die_

_To be reborn as the Dark Lord is vanquished_

_Into a shade whose spirit will flee._

_A decade of years it will wander in darkness most vile_

_Using darkest arts to survive._

_The champion of light will meet the shade twice_

_Each time more horrific, the suffering and pain growing_

_Until his blood taken in ritual most vile and the Dark Lord will be reborn_

_To gather his forces and spread the dark blight over the land once more._

_Twice will they battle, the outcome uncertain, the third will end it._

_Until with power the Dark Lord knows not,_

_The power of love and justice and peace, the Champion will prevail._

_The reign of justice will once more be balanced_

_The light will prevail and darkness be vanquished to usher in_

_The millennia of peace and freedom._

Olivander stopped to conjure a steaming mug of tea which he thirstily gulped before beginning his tale once more. "When Godric and Helga heard the prophecy that Rowena had told, they gathered together all of their tremendous intellect, all of the books that they could find and spent their remaining years studying and deciphering the prophecy. Salazar and his followers had begun a rampage of destruction and hatred, trying to first kill all the Muggleborns they could find and then turning upon all Muggles, regardless of magical ability. Godric and the others came to believe that Salazar had gone mad; Helga suspected that Salazar had contracted syphilis and it had eaten into his mind, but no one knows for sure.

Godric met Salazar one final time and found to his great distress that Salazar was no longer lucid, and did not even recognize the man who had once thought of him as a brother. Godric was able to defeat his former friend and with great sadness and sorrow; he killed him with his sword and burnt his body and scattered the ashes so he could not be brought back. The rest of his followers were quickly hunted down and imprisoned or killed, and the remaining Founders retired from teaching to devote their full time to deciphering the prophecy and finding ways to help the Champion of Peace in his battle.

The task was given to my great, great, many times great grandfather to hold this wand that the three Founders crafted for the Champion foretold. He was told that the wand would somehow find the champion, and would bond as no other wand has ever bonded before. The wizard who is destined to defeat the spawn of Salazar once and for all, is the only one who can safely wield this wand which is filled with a token from each of the three Founder's own animagus form; a claw from Gryffindor's griffin, a crest feather from Rowena's eagle, a tail hair from Helga's badger. The fourth substance is unknown and comes from the vial of liquid that Rowena was holding when she gave the prophecy. There is some speculation that it is the poison of a basilisk, but no one knows for certain.

There is a suite of rooms at Hogwarts that the three made and then hid for the Champion. It contains all of their private libraries and other materials that they felt the child would need to accomplish his task. The holder of this wand is the only one who will be able to find the rooms and reawaken the power of Hogwarts to help him with his task."

Olivander's voice trailed off, but no one spoke for long minutes as they pondered the meaning of his story, until Harry got tired of waiting. He could not only feel the power of the wand calling out to his own magic, he could hear the blasted thing in his own head, its impatience growing stronger with each minutes delay. Harry reached out his right hand and wiggled his fingers in a small wave and the box slipped out of the old wand maker's grasp and flew once more to Harry. With a sigh of relief, Harry opened the box and grasped the wand firmly with his right hand. A huge bouquet of multicolored sparks flew out of the tip, the lights so bright they lit up the dark narrow shop like the brightest fireworks, leaving images of flashes on the retinas of the stunned observers. Harry grinned from ear to ear, his face shining in the glowing lights as he happily waved his new wand.

After a shocked and stunned Olivander waved away any offer of payment, the three wizards left the old wand makers shop and apperated home, too awed and speechless to continue shopping, and Olivander left his shop closed; as he made his way to his ancestral manor house to search for any material or journals left by his ancestors that might help the boy, honored and immensely pleased that he had been the one to witness the dawn of the new age of peace.

* * *

AN: Thank you for your patience in waiting for this long overdue update. Thank you for all of your kind support and encouragement on this and my other stories, I appreciate each and every one of you. 


	12. Chapter 12: Revelations

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

Chapter 12: Revelations

Sirius grabbed Harry tightly and gave the boy a tight squeeze before letting him go and telling him to go down to the training room in the basement of the Manor. After Harry left the room, Sirius turned to Remus; his forehead wrinkled with worry.

"What are we going to do, Moony? Do we keep this quiet…can we keep this quiet? Should we tell Dumbledore and get the Professor involved in training Harry? I just wanted him to have a normal childhood…" His voice trailed off as he slumped down, his head buried in his hands, worry radiating off of his body like an odd fever.

Remus sat down on the couch beside him, his own face changing as his emotions churned. He was proud that his pup was the Chosen One to defeat Voldemort, and yet the prophecy hadn't sounded very pleasant. What was that about the Dark Lord returning, and all the times they would battle; wasn't Voldemort dead? They would need some help in figuring out what the bloody thing actually meant. And he knew that Professor Trelawney was a fraud, he still couldn't understand why Dumbledore had hired her to fill the spot left when Felicity Fortuna retired. He had understood from Minerva McGonagall that they were not going to even offer the subject any more, since the last four or five Divination Professors had left a lot to be desired. After all, a true seer was born; no amount of tutelage could give someone the true gift of prophecy if they didn't already have it. Perhaps Dumbledore, McGonagall and the other Professors could still help decipher the prophecy with them, or maybe someone from the Department of Mysteries? He would have to give it some serious thought about exactly who they could let into their confidence.

Remus reached a comforting arm around his best friend and patted the visibly distraught man. "We knew when little Harry was born that life would never be dull around him. I suppose we should have anticipated this…though I don't know how! Let's just go and test him with his new wand. We can wait for a few days while we straighten things out, shall we? Surely a couple of days won't make any difference."

As Sirius stood up and began to leave the room, Remus patted him on the back once more before changing the subject. "So how goes things with the fair Ms. Batiste and the little princess? Still fighting cupid's arrow?"

Sirius' cheeks bloomed until the blush spread clear down his neck. "I admit that I like Glynnis…oh all right…I love her…and she seems to love me. Marybeth is wonderful; she would be a good companion to Harry. She's just eight months older than he is, you know but…that next step is huge." The men had reached the stairs to the basement as Sirius continued. "I find myself daydreaming about bringing her home…but then how do I explain Harry and the whole….magic…thing, Moony?"

Remus gave a soft laugh; he had never thought Sirius would admit that he loved the muggle nurse he had been seeing, more and more steadily over the last four years. With a shake of his head, he mused that the last of the Marauder's had finally grown up. The pranks against Severus Snape had tapered off after the first year that Harry had lived with them; and then last year, Sirius had finally swallowed his pride and apologized to Snape for their ongoing childish feud. It had taken many long sleepless nights of drafting and revising, but he had finally gritted his teeth and sent off the owl with his apology attached.

It had taken a full month, but the two men had been rather startled to receive back Snape's acceptance; with his own begrudging apology for the escalation of hostilities that had occurred on both sides. Sirius had insisted that Dumbledore had a very heavy hand involved in the apology, but Remus wasn't too sure. He had watched the dour potion's master during the ordeal with rescuing Harry; it had changed the man, in ways they only just now were beginning to understand. Remus was ecstatic that Sirius was talking about taking the next step in his relationship, and was finally becoming the mature and thoughtful man that James and Remus had always known was deep inside him.

His thoughts wandering nostalgic over the past few years; Remus walked into the back of Sirius as he stopped suddenly, looking through the spell strengthened glass into the training room at Harry. Harry was standing in the middle of the room, his new wand in hand, a look of pure joy lighting up his small face; his innocent giggles of delight filling the air. With waves and twirls, a steady stream of birds, butterflies, and brightly colored fireworks were weaving intricate dancing patterns around the boy. The amount of magic he was expending so effortlessly was awe inspiring to say the least.

Sirius turned his head to look back over his shoulder and smirked at Moony. "I guess we have our answer, don't we? There's no way you and I will be able to completely train the pup. I wouldn't be surprised if training Harry will even challenge Albus!"

Remus just nodded in wonderment, too stunned to even speak.

* * *

The next months passed quickly. The two men had decided to train Harry in secret, until his magic prowess went beyond their capabilities; before bringing in the Professors of Hogwarts. They were so proud and happy, that neither one of them wanted to share their pup until they had to. The layers upon layers of wards, both ancient and recent, kept any sign of Harry's burgeoning powers secret from Ministry spying, and with Remus being the secret keeper as well as living at the Manor; no one could find them no matter how hard they tried.

Sirius was waffling back and forth on how to tell Glynnis that Harry had survived, and exactly what had been involved in that miracle. He had even gone so far as to request the paperwork from the Ministry, which would allow him to inform Glynnis and her daughter about the existence of the Magical world. One blustery early November afternoon, the three were settled in the toasty warmth of the library, each whiling away the dreary day by reading companionably; when the blazing fire flashed green, warning of an incoming fire-call. Since only a very select few people knew of the passwords necessary to gain access to the floo in the Manor, the three merely turned their attention to the odd green fire.

The ancient visage of Albus Dumbledore appeared briefly; asking permission to step through, since he needed to talk to all of them, and the floo wasn't totally secure. Sirius released the lock on the floo with a mumbled password and a flick of his long wand. The old man stepped gracefully through, his long lavender robes decorated with dancing unicorns along the bottom edge. He pulled off his tall wizards cap and shook out a few flakes of soot, before running his hand through his long white hair and replacing his cap.

"Ah, good you are all three here. First off Sirius, I was reminded of something yesterday afternoon when I was making up the enrollment estimates for next year. Harry's name is there as Harry James Potter-Black, just as we suspected it would be. I need you to let me know how Harry wants to be enrolled formally; and how he wishes to be addressed by the Professors and his fellow students while attending school."

Harry looked at Paddy and grinned, "I want to be Harry Black, just Harry Black. I don't want everyone staring at me. I can tell anyone that I want to know the truth, but not everyone needs to know who I was."

Albus nodded his head in agreement, "A wise choice young Harry. Much easier to blend in that way! Now, Sirius I spotted something else that I thought you might want to take care of…personally. It seems there is a new Muggleborn student listed; who wasn't there last summer when I checked my register last. I have a new entry for Miss Marybeth Batiste; mother's name, Glynnis Batiste; who has just manifested accidental magic strong enough to warrant an invitation to attend Hogwarts."

If Dumbledore said anything more, Sirius didn't hear it as he had leaped up from his comfortable armchair, spilling his unnoticed book off his lap and onto the floor. He grabbed Harry up by the waist; twirling around the room with Harry's legs flying out as they madly spun around. Harry was giggling merrily, and Remus had to dodge his flying feet to get in close enough to grab the two and enfold them in a three way hug of happiness; holding the two up as they wavered with sudden dizziness.

When they finally flopped down, totally breathless, Dumbledore continued. "Her eleventh birthday is the 24th of November so her first contact would normally be with Professor McGonagall sometime before then. She would be most happy to have you accompany her on her visit, if you would like. I also have the proper paperwork here from the Ministry for you to reveal the existence of the magical world before then, if you would like. It really is just a formality since Marybeth is eligible for Hogwarts now, but it is up to you."

"I want to bring Glynnis and Marybeth here tomorrow. I can explain about Harry, and we can show her some of our world. If Minerva could come over later and explain about Hogwarts to them both, I would appreciate it. We need to tell you some things about our training with Harry also; if you would like to come and visit for dinner, we could discuss things then. I was supposed to spend the day with Glynnis and Marybeth tomorrow; she's working tonight, so if you and Minerva would like to come to dinner tomorrow we would be most happy to have you here." Sirius was rambling slightly with excitement, but he didn't really care. His heart felt so light, he was sure he was glowing with happiness.

* * *

Harry and Remus were waiting nervously in the study for the arrival of Sirius, Glynnis and Marybeth. Sirius had talked about his girlfriend and her daughter so much, the two felt like they already knew the two, even though Harry had no memories of the time he had been under Glynnis' care, and Remus remembered her only vaguely from that same time.

Finally they heard the roar of Sirius' Triumph pulling into the long circular driveway and then the sudden cessation of the roaring noise; followed shortly by the sound of the heavily carved, and magnificent heavy oak doors of the Potter Manor being opened and then shut.

"My word, Sirius; this is magnificent. I knew that you were well off, but I had no idea you were this well off! And you live here all alone?" Glynnis was slightly breathless in excitement at finally seeing where her handsome boyfriend lived. She had been hoping for this moment for almost four years now.

Sirius had Marybeth up on his shoulders, and was dancing in the elegant entry hall, the hundreds of flickering candles of the ornate golden chandelier creating an inviting glow from three stories above them. Marybeth was squealing her excitement as the man she liked to think of as her father danced beneath her whilst she held tight to his forehead.

"Well, that's something I need to talk to you about, love. Can we go into the library for a few minutes while I explain some things to the both of you?" Glynnis felt a squeeze of apprehension well up deep within her chest. 'Surely he wouldn't have brought them here just to break up…or hell… to tell them he was married?'

Marybeth's face fell as she thought for sure that Sirius had found out about all of the odd accidents and occurrences that always seemed to happen all around her. She had tried to keep them a secret from her mother as much as she could, after all, they had usually been just small things…well, until last month when she had fallen off of the metal climbing bars at school and ….sort of… bounced…down the lower bars instead of getting hurt. She might have been able to keep it secret from her mother, except that no less than four separate teachers had witnessed the odd event, and the snoopy old biddies felt it necessary to tell her mother all about it in a parent conference. She just felt so weird sometimes; like she would never fit in or have any friends. And now her heart sank as she knew that Sirius was going to break up with her Mum; just like when all her friends shied away from her, after they found out about her…weirdness.

Sirius was so apprehensive about how his two girls were going to react to what he had to tell him; that he failed to notice their own worried expressions. The three turned and walked into a warm and cheerful room just to the right of the entrance, where Marybeth and Glynnis stopped, frozen in awe. All four walls were lined with shelves and shelves full of books, two stories tall with a series of railed walkways and circular staircases making all of the volumes easily accessible. A massive white marble fireplace held a roaring fire; and was flanked by three large, comfortable dark brown leather couches, each covered with invitingly bright pillows and throws. Scattered around the deceptively huge room were scattered armchairs, small tables and even a couple of tables with desk chairs for spreading out any research. Glynnis looked around in admiration, her anxiety momentarily forgotten as she thought of spending a blissful eternity in this room.

Sirius sat down with Marybeth cuddled on one side of him, and patted the other side of the couch for Glynnis to sit beside him. He looked directly into the fire in front of him, mentally practicing his memorized speech once more, before gathering up his courage to speak.

"Glynnis, Marybeth…there is something I have been keeping hidden from you for as long as we have known each other. At first it was because I was forbidden to tell you, and then it was because I was afraid I would lose you; and I couldn't bear to lose you. You remember how we met, Glynnis?" At her puzzled nod, he continued, looking into the fire, afraid to meet her eyes, though he wrapped a long arm around the shoulders of each of his girls. "My godson, Harry Potter was gravely injured by his cousin. Well… Harry didn't die that night. I have been raising him in hiding from the people that murdered his parents." He stopped talking at the sharp intake of Glynnis' breath.

Marybeth grabbed Sirius' hand, it really didn't matter to her if his godson was alive or not, as long as he still loved her. "Its okay, Sirius, I don't mind." She patted his arm with her free hand. Glynnis wasn't quite so quick to forgive the man she hoped loved her, like she loved him. But she was willing to at least listen to what he had to say.

"So you were hiding him to keep him safe? But I would have never told anyone, you could have told me! Who murdered his parents, and why would they want to hurt him? Why didn't you tell me?" Glynnis had more questions, but those where the major ones, at least so far!

"This will take a while to explain; so it would be better if you just listen, and wait to ask questions until I'm done. I promise I will answer any questions you have, I just need you to listen first." Sirius pulled his hand out of Marybeth's and removed his arm from around her to rake his fingers through his long black hair in nervousness. "Marybeth, I know that a lot of … odd things have happened around you… and to you. And that you don't know why." The girl looked astonished but just nodded; her eyes wide and questioning. "Well, the simple answer is that you are a witch, and those things are happening because you don't know how to control your magic yet. And the reason I know that is because I am a wizard." He flicked his wrist with a practiced motion and his wand flew out of his wrist holster into his waiting grasp. He twirled it in an expert fashion, and a stunning sterling silver tea service appeared on the low table in front of the couch they were sitting on. The tall tea pot steamed fragrantly; while the plates of delicate finger sandwiches, and glazed petit fours looked delicious and inviting.

Both women gasped but managed to continue listening as Sirius continued his explanation. 'Magic's real…and I'm a witch. Wicked, I get to learn to do that!' Marybeth thought as her mother thought, 'Well, that certainly explains a lot about the weird things happening around Marybeth the last couple of years, and some of the things I've noticed about Sirius.' Her thoughts were muddled as she listened with only one ear as Sirius went on about some statute of secrecy as her inner voice shouted, 'He's not breaking up with me! He's not MARRIED!' She settled back into the warm arm that was still on her shoulders, and grabbed the hand dangling beside her chest; feeling some of the tenseness leave the man beside her as she cuddled happily into his side.

Sirius felt a huge weight leave his heart as he felt Glynnis sink into him, and Marybeth start to wiggle with excitement as she babbled questions. He began to explain about Harry with a much lighter heart. "Harry's Mum and Dad were some of my best friends; before they were murdered by a very evil wizard, when he was only a baby. His followers made some horrific threats against the baby that destroyed their Dark Lord, and actually attacked several other families trying to find him. I should have been raising Harry from that awful night; but I made some bad choices when Lily and James were first murdered, and Harry was placed with his Aunt and Uncle. You know how well that turned out!" His voice dripped with bitter sarcasm as Glynnis just nodded in understanding. "Well, not all of the murdering scum are dead or in prison, and they would still like nothing better than to hurt or kill Harry; because the foul spell their leader used to try and kill Harry, backfired somehow and killed him instead. So it was better for everyone to believe that Harry Potter died, and then for him to live here with me in hiding."

Glynnis was silent for a few moments as she assimilated the information before hesitantly telling Sirius. "I can understand that, Siri. I truly do understand; I would do anything to keep Marybeth safe. But why are you telling us now?" She hoped she knew the answer, so she just held her breath in anticipation.

Sirius dragged his hand through his hair once more in nervousness. "Two reasons; first is because children in the magical world receive an invitation to attend a special boarding school at the age of eleven. It's called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the invitation for Marybeth should be arriving before her birthday… sometime in the next couple of weeks. The Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress will be joining us for dinner tonight to talk about it; that is if it's all right?" Marybeth looked like she might float off the couch in excitement, while Glynnis looked rather apprehensive about the idea of her eleven year old daughter leaving her to attend some unknown magical boarding school; but she vowed to at least listen as she noticed how excited Marybeth looked. She took a shaky breath and looked up at the man beside her. "And the second reason, Siri?" Her upturned face held nothing but love and trust for the man sitting so close to her.

He looked down at her upturned face and couldn't resist kissing her deeply, and with all the feeling he could impart to the wonderful woman beside him. He broke off the kiss and shook his head in wonder, smiling slightly at the look of love in his girlfriend's eyes. He leaned over and whispered so that Marybeth couldn't hear. "I was hoping you would do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Sirius Black?" He couldn't believe he had managed to ask her without stuttering or messing up somehow. He held his breath, a look of hope in his blue eyes as he pulled an elegant red velvet jeweler's box out of his pocket. He flicked the small box open with one hand and held it out to her, holding his breath in a mixture of half hope of acceptance and love; and half fear of rejection and heartache.

Glynnis squealed in excitement as she flung her arms around Sirius' neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss without saying a single word. Marybeth covered her eyes in disgust and commented. "Uggh! Get a room, folks. You are scarring me for life."

Glynnis let go of Sirius' neck and stood up, pulling Sirius up with one hand while she used the other one to pull her daughter to her feet. Wrapping the two people she loved most in the world, into a tight embrace she leaned close to her daughter's head and confided. "Sirius just asked me to marry him and I said 'yes!'' Marybeth let out her own squeal of delight and jumped on Sirius, her arms around his neck, her legs tight around his waist as she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Finally! Took you long enough!" She looked down at her mother and just said, "Way to go, Mum!"

The two adults looked at each other and then turned with equal fondness to the girl tucked between them. Sirius laughed, his head thrown back and his chest heaving in relief. "I guess she approves!"

Harry and Remus ran into the room, the delighted noises letting them know that everything had turned out all right, and that it was safe for them to enter. Glynnis turned away from her daughter and her fiancé, to look awkwardly at the boy she had thought dead. She smiled shyly before opening her arms to take the healthy and happy looking ten year old into a brief hug. She kept her hands on his shoulders as she bent down to look in his eyes. "You are all right about this Harry? I don't want to come between you and your father; just like Sirius won't come between me and Marybeth."

Harry just grinned and pulled Remus into the embrace. "Nah, I think it's wicked!"

The rest of the afternoon was spent in getting to know each other, and telling the young witch and her mother all about the magical world. They managed to take the two gobsmacked women on a grand tour of the Manor before their guests arrived for a most momentous and eventful dinner, though Glynnis almost fainted at being introduced to the staff of house elves busily preparing a celebratory feast in the kitchen.

* * *

Albus stood from the side of the table where he was sitting next to Minerva and looked at Sirius where he sat at the head of the table, Glynnis on one side and Marybeth on the other. He raised his golden goblet of fine Elvin wine and his blue eyes twinkled impossibly brightly. "I would like to take advantage of this momentous occasion to welcome the two of you to our world, and to toast the future Mr. and Mrs. Sirius Black. The last of the Marauder's has grown up, and I for one, never thought I would live to see the day!" Sirius, Minerva, Remus and Harry all laughed heartily and raised their own goblets to clink to the happy couple and the new witch.

As Albus sat down, the prim witch beside him stood, her own goblet held high as she gave her own toast, "Well Sirius, we may have fought like cats and dogs but it's time to bury the bone. It's just been proven; you CAN teach old dogs new tricks! Glynnis, you have my congratulations and condolences, for not only are you marrying Sirius, you are marrying into a canine pack. I will be happy to teach you some feline tricks of your own." Remus snorted, he just loved McGonagall when she got into the mulled mead, it was the only time she really let her hair down. Glynnis and Marybeth looked around totally confused at the bizarre toast, as the rest of the group broke down in guffaws of laughter.

Glynnis leaned over to her new fiancé and whispered, "Am I missing something? Why did she call you a dog? Is this some kind of inside joke?" Sirius had imbibed in a few too many goblets of his own mead in relief at not only having found the courage to ask the question, but his overwhelming joy at her positive answer; so he just stood up and moved back from the table to transform into Padfoot in response to her questions.

Marybeth yelled, "Wicked! Can I learn to do that?" while Glynnis stood up so quickly she dumped her goblet and napkin on the floor, and her chair fell backwards with a loud thump. "What…how…no…you're…how did you?" Unfortunately it was one too many shocks for the poor woman; and she just turned and fled the room, her face buried in her hands as she tried to process one more world shaking surprise.

"Sirius Black, you should have warned the poor woman before surprising her like that!" McGonagall was now instantly sober, and stood up herself to go to Glynnis and explain what had just happened. "Now explain to the poor child while I go calm down your fiancé."

Sirius got a goofy grin at hearing Glynnis called his fiancé for the first time, before turning to Marybeth and explaining about animagi; with a little help thrown in from Albus, Harry and Remus.

* * *

Minerva sank down into the couch beside the softly crying woman, and put her strong arm around the gently shaking shoulders. "It's all right, my dear. I image it's just been a bit much today, with no time in between all of the surprises to process the information. I am here to listen if you need to talk, or answer any questions that you might have, or even just to sit quietly beside you while you think. Whatever you need, child." The older witch was very sympathetic and understanding, she had years of experience at introducing muggle parents to the world of magic, but she had never had one proposed to on the same day, so she was at a bit of a loss.

Glynnis sniffled loudly before wiping her eyes, and then blowing her nose daintily in a tissue that Minerva had handed to her. "I…it's just so much…I don't know how I'm going to handle it all. I mean, this morning everything was normal, well…maybe not since that incident last week at Marybeth's school…but as normal as my life gets and now…. I just don't know anymore!"

Minerva lifted Glynnis' chin with her hand, and looked into the bloodshot and bleary eyes. "Now child, I know it has been a tremendous shock to you. But let me ask you some questions. Are you happier now knowing there is an explanation for the odd things happening around Marybeth?" Glynnis nodded, looking at the kind face of the older witch, as the woman continued. "And it will be better for her to be trained in her magic, won't it?" Glynnis reluctantly nodded again. "And do you love Sirius?" A small smile graced the young muggles face as she thought of the man she loved.

"Yes I do, with all of my heart. I thought after my husband died I would never love again, but I think I love Sirius even more than I did my first husband, Armando…and I didn't think that was possible."

Minerva smiled wistfully, her eyes slightly moist as she remembered her own first love; Donal Fergal Malachai McGonagall had been killed by Grindelwald himself shortly before Albus Dumbledore killed the evil wizard in 1945. Donal had stolen her heart when they were children together, and she had married him right out of Hogwarts, only to have him killed just two years later. She had thought she would never love again, but she had to admit that what she now felt for Albus Dumbledore was deeper and more meaningful than her love for Donal had been; though she hoped their young love might have mellowed into the deep respect and caring she now felt for the aged Headmaster if Donal had lived. She might never have anything more than Albus' respect and friendship; but until the threat of Voldemort was totally banished, she would have to be content with that.

The two women sat companionably in the silent library for a long time, both staring into the fire deep in thought. The silence was comforting until Glynnis began to hesitantly question the older witch about life in the wizarding world. It was the beginning of a friendship that spanned the generations as Minerva lost some of the loneliness the death of Lily Potter had left in her heart and Glynnis gained the mentor she had never had.

* * *

AN: Short and a bit of a filler chapter but the action picks up again next chapter. I am torn between making Marybeth a fellow partner in crime to Harry or keeping her more Hermione like. What do you think? And the other Professors will be showing up soon. Including our favorite dark and brooding potions master as Voldemort makes his first tentative attacks on young Harry's mind. 


	13. Chapter 13: Back to Hogwarts

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

AN: Sorry it's taken so long to update but this holiday season has been particularly hard on me so I really haven't been in the mood to write much. I miss all of my children (except the one that moved with me) and my grandchildren so much, I've been rather down. But I have survived once more so I will try to get back on schedule with updating more regularly. Thank you for your kind support and best wishes.

Chapter 13: Back to Hogwarts

It took several weeks for Glynnis to completely forgive Sirius for springing so many surprises on her all in one long afternoon, but she eventually understood why they had kept Harry's survival secret. She still wasn't happy about Sirius not trusting her with keeping Harry safe, but she did understand.

Marybeth was so excited about being a witch that she hounded her mother into letting her spend almost every afternoon after school with the three wizards so that she could learn more about the world she would be joining. So as November continued, she used a permanent portkey most afternoons to arrive at Potter Manor to spend time with her new friend Harry.

* * *

Harry and Marybeth were plotting and planning up in Harry's room. Harry loved Sirius and Remus, but he had often felt a little lonely with mostly just adults for company. He enjoyed his wizarding school, but that only lasted four hours a day during the school year and not at all on holidays and during the long summer months, plus there was very little free time to visit with his fellow students. That had begun to change, the more he spent with Marybeth. She had also had a lonely existence. Her mother was either working in the I.C.U. at the Greater Whinging Hospital, or she was doing laundry or sleeping, or just plain tired so much of the time that Marybeth had been lonely too. She had no trouble making friends at first, but the unusual happenings that occurred whenever Marybeth was excited or upset soon had her classmates pulling back and finding other friends to spend their time with.

Harry had been very apprehensive about losing Sirius to Glynnis but it really hadn't happened. When Sirius was home, he focused his attention almost single mindedly on his son. And when Sirius was gone, either visiting Glynnis or doing odd things that he never talked much about, Harry was just as comfortable with Remus. But that all changed when Marybeth discovered the world of magic in general, and the joys of having a fellow partner in crime. It had taken only a week of subtle dancing and prodding before the beginnings of a deep friendship developed between the ten and a half year old wizard and the newly turned eleven year old witch. The second week had consisted of Marybeth following Harry around in awe, wanting the younger boy to teach her everything he had learned about the wizarding world and how to do all of the marvelous spells and hexes that he had learned.

But now, the end of the third week, Marybeth and Harry sat in his bedroom, plotting revenge on the adults in their lives. Harry was lounging on his bed, his knees bent with his feet kicking slowly through the air as he lay on his stomach; his head propped up in his hands as he looked down at Marybeth where she sprawled over a blank parchment on the floor.

"Nah, that's too easy, Remus and Sirius will spot it a mile away. They've been pulling tricks on me and each other for years…we have to make it seem as if they are pranking each other."

"Well, how about if we use that potion you were telling me about the other day…you know the one that makes the drinker think he's naked but he's not really?"

"That would only work if you or your Mum were here, otherwise they wouldn't care. They did spend seven years living in a dorm together at school. But if we could get a different potion in their drinks one night when your Mum was here…but how? Sirius is way to suspicious if I try to give him a drink." Harry shut his eyes as he rolled over and faced the ceiling. He hummed tunelessly to himself as he thought. "I know…we just coat the inside of the tea cups with a potion and let it dry. Then when they leave us to go in the study and talk 'adult' stuff…we won't even be in the room! It's prefect." Harry rolled back and looked down with a very satisfied smirk on his face.

"Harry, why don't we do it so that it takes effect when we are gone to school? We just paint the potion on a couple of random teacups and then we won't even be here when it happens." Marybeth offered her own suggestions.

"Wicked! Let's do it." The two moved over to Harry's desk and pulled out one of Harry's potions books, their heads together, one black and one blonde, as they plotted, an occasional mischievous giggle the only sound above a whisper.

* * *

On Tuesday, when Remus was lingering perusing the Daily Prophet over a cup of tea, he noticed the hand holding the paper was a bright neon, traffic cone shade of orange. He blinked as he discovered his other hand was the same color, as were his arms. He unbuttoned the top of his robe, pulled back his pajama top and discovered his chest was the same. Dropping the tea cup and the paper, he leapt to his feet, screaming, "Padfoot you are so dead when I catch you." He took off out of the breakfast room, wand out and ready, thundering up the back stairs intent upon revenge.

After a fierce battle of thrown hexes and minor curses with Sirius that ranged throughout the large Manor, the orange of Remus' skin faded back to his normal shade, but the werewolf ignored and patently disbelieved any of Sirius' protestations of innocence.

"I swear, Moony, I don't know anything about it. I didn't prank you this time…but that was an awesome duel don't you think?" He draped a friendly arm on his best friend's shoulders as the two descended the broad stairway to finally eat breakfast.

"Right, Paddy, like I believe you. You sound just like James trying to convince Lily he hadn't pranked Snape," was Remus' sarcastic reply as he punched Sirius in the shoulder.

Of course, two days later when Sirius found that his hair was pink, his eyes purple, his fingernails green and his torso was yellow; he believed in Remus' innocence just as much as Remus had believed in his. "I swear as a Marauder, that I didn't prank you, Paddy. Though I have to admit, it is a very good prank. I don't recall seeing those exact colors before, and the green fingernails are a really nice touch…" Remus threw the last phrase over his shoulder as he ran up the stairs, a multi-colored wizard hot on his tail, spells flying past him to splash harmlessly on the walls.

Sirius had his wand in his hand, throwing multiple hexes at his fast disappearing friend, when the front door opened without warning and Glynnis and Marybeth entered. Marybeth started laughing, her joyful peals of delight echoing up to the high ceiling of the entrance hall. Glynnis just gaped like a fish, her mouth opening and closing without any recognizable speech emerging. With a shaking finger, she pointed at her fiancé, before spluttering, "How are you…is that some kind of dye?" She looked perplexed and somewhat hesitant.

Remus had taken advantage of the distraction to disappear completely as Sirius turned to explain to a gobsmacked woman about the wonderful opportunities for pranking available to witches and wizards. Marybeth just kept giggling to herself as she finally managed to spot Harry, one hand clamped tightly over his mouth to keep silent, as he peeked out of the library door. She snuck over to him and pushed him back to enter the room and closed the door tightly. The two then laughed so hard, they had to hold on to each other to keep standing.

* * *

The prank war between Sirius and Remus escalated rapidly after that. Even though both men kept proclaiming their innocence, it did not stop either one from plotting revenge for being pranked by the other. And both Remus and Sirius enlisted the help of the two youngsters for help. Sirius and Marybeth had both worked on Glynnis until the frazzled woman consented to stay at the Manor over the Christmas holidays, so they had plenty of opportunities to both assist and sabotage the pranksters.

By the time the holidays were over, Sirius had spent an afternoon wearing pig tails and bows, while Remus turned an incredible shade of red when his robes had somehow transformed into a huge nappy, complete with oversized safety pin, and a frilly bib that proclaimed he was loved by his mother. The two wizards were each afraid to taste anything or drink anything without running complicated detection spells, and both had given up counting the number of different colors they had sported at various times.

Harry had woken one morning to find Remus sporting ears like a house elf's while a very satisfied, but dripping wet Sirius laughed at him. Glynnis had given up and just joined in the general fun now, no longer surprised by anything that might befall the two.

But Harry and Marybeth just took meticulous notes in a journal they had started of pranks to do while at Hogwarts next fall. By enlisting the two children to help, both Remus and Sirius had been happy to supply the correct incantations and wand movements as well as all the ingredients and brewing directions for the potions that they had used on each other.

Marybeth and Harry had escaped discovery of their own duplicity in many of the pranks that were attributed to either Sirius or Remus, but their journal was now reaching the length of a book. The two happily giggled and laughed through the holidays until the prank war died a noble death as Glynnis and Marybeth returned home after New Years.

* * *

As winter turned into spring, the five settled into a comfortable routine. Harry left each morning to attend his magic school for four hours after breakfast to return just in time for lunch with Sirius and Remus. His studies in Latin, etiquette, Wizarding history, theories of potions and herbology were progressing steadily and he was at the top of each of them. He remained friends with many of the boys who attended with him, and had even used some of the pranks with them to get the girls. The closer and more comfortable he got with Marybeth, the easier he found it to make other friends, so he was finally breaking out of his shell.

After lunch, Remus would continue to train Harry in dueling, charms and transfiguration while Sirius took care of the multitude of work required to maintain both the Black and Potter fortunes and businesses. The three would break at teatime when Marybeth would portkey in after her muggle school let out and the two children would work together to help Marybeth learn the basics and then just fly brooms, play games and plot mischief together until dinnertime. Sometimes Glynnis would join them for dinner, sometimes Sirius would leave to meet her somewhere, and sometimes Marybeth would leave to eat alone with her mother, though that happened only rarely.

* * *

Glynnis opened the door on the Friday afternoon of Marybeth's last day of classes before the Easter holiday began to find Sirius, Remus, Harry and one of the odd little creatures she had met frequently at the Manor. She opened the door wide and led them into the lounge to have a seat.

"We've come to help you get everything ready to go to stay at the Manor for the holidays and then we," Sirius motioned towards Remus, Harry and himself, "would like to take you and Marybeth to Hogsmeade to look around, and then up to visit Hogwarts herself. The Headmaster has invited you to come and meet the Professors that will be teaching Harry and Marybeth next year. Most of the students left for holiday this morning, so the school will be practically empty. We can eat dinner and then take a tour with Minerva." Sirius looked very hopeful as he waited for his fiancé's answer.

"Well, I don't see why not…I admit I am very curious to see the school. I haven't totally decided that I want Marybeth away from me for so long, but she is so excited about attending, I don't know how I could say no to her." She leaned over and hugged Sirius while smiling brightly at Harry and Remus. She wasn't sure at first how Remus fit into the dynamics of the little family; she had known that he was much more than just Harry's tutor but she had finally welcomed him as an uncle to her daughter, as he already was to Harry. No one had yet explained about his 'furry little problem' but they had managed to focus a few discussions about the other members of the magical community and even a rather frank discussion about the myths and realities of werewolves, vampires, goblins, unicorns, and others thought by muggles to be only myth.

As Glynnis finished explaining to the little elf exactly what she wanted packed for their visit, Marybeth came into the comfortable flat, throwing her book bag down beside the front door and yelling, "I'm hungry Mum…what's for tea?" before she noticed her Mum wasn't alone as she had expected.

Marybeth flung herself onto Sirius' neck, giving her mother's boyfriend an exuberant welcome before grabbing Harry's hand and dragging him off to visit her bedroom. It was the first time that Harry had come to her house and she wanted to show him her collection of mythical animals and storybooks. She had always been drawn to myths and legends and had books and figurines all about Merlin, and unicorns and flying horses…some of which Harry had confided in her were actually real!

As the two giggling pre-teens ran down the hallway, the three adults smiled wistfully and began to help the elf pack up the two women's belongings.

* * *

While the elf popped back to the Manor with the Batiste's shrunken belongings, the five took a floo trip to Madame Rosmerta's Three Broomsticks Pub in Hogsmeade. Sirius held Glynnis tight to his chest; his long arms wrapped protectively around her while she buried her face into his chest and held her breath as he had instructed her. She couldn't help herself though, she peeked under his arm only to be overwhelmed by the flashes of other destinations that appeared and disappeared as they spun madly through the floo system. She would have fallen if not for Sirius' strong arms still holding her up as she felt him chuckling at her distress. She had barely regained her equilibrium from the mad spinning when Sirius pulled her out of the fireplace and out of the way. Marybeth had ridden with Remus and came out of the fireplace squealing with glee, barely managing not to trip the poor man trying to hold onto her wriggling body.

Both wizards were laughing at the girls' reactions when Harry stepped carefully out of the floo, he was upright and steady, but he hadn't yet managed to be as graceful as the Headmaster or Professor McGonagall yet. He made the floo trip twice each day, once to Wizarding School and once home, but it had still only been the last couple of months that he had learned not to fall over when he landed. He had vowed that he would learn to be as graceful as Professor McGonagall when she floo-ed if he had to practice his landings for the next five years.

A flick of Remus' wand removed any traces of soot from each traveler and a second flick straightened out clothing and hair for each of them. Harry dragged Marybeth over to an empty table in the pub while Remus grabbed another chair to add to the four already standing around the square table. Rosmerta smiled widely at her customers before bringing them cold butter beer and warm pumpkin pasties. Glynnis closed her eyes with an almost sensuous sigh as the first warm and spicy bite of pumpkin wrapped in the hot and flaky pastry registered on her taste buds. She would have to learn how to make these things!

Full, warm and happy, the five left the Three Broomsticks and spent an enjoyable afternoon looking through the odd little shops that made up Hogsmeade. Harry managed to shop for Sirius' upcoming birthday, and Marybeth took advantage of her mother being distracted to buy something for him too. The two children then whispered and shot glances back at the three obliviously talking adults, before Harry snuck into Zonko's Joke Shop without either Sirius or Remus even noticing his absence.

Harry had the owner shrink his purchases, and slipped them into his robe pocket before sliding unnoticed back into the bookstore where the others were still browsing the shelves. Marybeth had kept Remus occupied by asking him questions about which books she should read before actually attending school next fall, and Sirius and Glynnis had been in their own little world all afternoon, so they didn't notice when Harry gave them all the slip and then returned.

When the five finally began the long walk up to Hogwarts, Glynnis stopped completely dumbfounded at her first look up the hill. As a Muggle, the anti-Muggle charms made the huge castle look like a falling down and dangerous ruin, the rusted and crumbling fence had large 'Do Not Enter' and 'Dangerous – Condemned' signs prominently displayed along its long length. She gasped in disappointment and utter disbelief until Sirius grabbed her hand, allowing his magic to show her the reality under the glamour. Remus was chasing after the two running children, so Sirius put his arm around his fiancés shoulder, and the two walked at a much more reasonable pace up the path to the enchanted castle. The long green lawns and the light of hundreds of torches shining from the multitude of windows made the castle seem like something from a fairy tale.

The last beams of the spring sun shone behind the crenellated towers bathing the upper portion of the castle with a soft pink and yellow light, the meandering pathway around the huge shimmering lake and the forbidden forest softened by the deep shadows made the castle worthy of adorning picture postcards. Glynnis fell in love with the magical world that afternoon, and all of her worries and doubts about letting her daughter attend seemed to melt with each step closer.

* * *

Harry had spent a lot of time at Hogwarts over the last five years, but it still overwhelmed him every time he returned. Every time he had visited, the ambient magic had hummed and sizzled around him as his senses were bathed in pure magic. He always felt like the castle herself was waiting for something, but he had never talked about what he experienced with anyone else, thinking mistakenly that everyone else felt the same way.

The first few days after he had been rescued he would tell Paddy and Remus about what he could sense about the auras of the people and magical objects all around him; he had stopped commenting on them as the newness of the magical world faded, though he could always see them, until he learned how to block them out. He had used his staff to aide him for the first couple of months while his leg had bothered him, but it now sat forgotten in the back of his wardrobe, the magic of the staff making everyone forget about its existence until the time to awaken came once again.

So as he ran up the meandering path towards the castle, with Marybeth and Moony chasing after him, he wasn't surprised to feel the comforting caress of the castle's wards as he entered the grounds. But then he felt a shiver and a shimmy in them that he had never felt before. He stopped abruptly, his senses reeling; the magic pulse of the castles awakening rushed towards him and then into him using his pocketed wand as the focus to enter and then spread, overwhelming him with a burst and flood of power until he crumpled to the ground, his small body unable to handle the influx of magic the castle fed into him as she awoke from her centuries long sleep, and greeted the heir.

When Harry stopped running, Marybeth ran up to him and pushed him on the shoulder, yelling, "Gotcha!" before continuing to run towards the fairy tale castle that sat, windows glowing invitingly, upon the crest of the hill. She stopped when she didn't hear him respond at all and turned around, confused to find him crumpled into the muddy dirt of the path. She yelled, "Harry!" and knelt down to roll the too still boy over just as Remus came rushing up to them.

"Harry, pup…what's wrong?" Remus was getting worried as he got no response from the limp form he had picked up in his arms. Besides being wet from the puddles, there didn't appear to be anything wrong with Harry. Remus turned around and yelled at Sirius where he was ambling slowly up the long path, arm in arm with Glynnis. "Sirius …it's Harry…come quick!"

The two looked up and then began to run towards the upset werewolf and the limp child draped over his arms, Marybeth running beside him, her face scrunched up in worry and concern for her best friend and the child she was beginning to love as much as her own.

Sirius arrived first, his longer legs giving him an advantage over Glynnis, but she managed to reach them shortly thereafter, panting for breath in the cooling late afternoon air. Glynnis efficiently checked Harry's pulse and respiration, before using a practiced finger to lift his eyelid and check his pupils, her professional training taking over and allowing all her personal feelings to be shunted aside during the crisis. Harry's eyes had rolled back until only a small crescent of bright blue was visible in all the white, a tiny sliver of bright green showing where his contact had slipped slightly. Sirius and Remus looked at the nurse, hoping she could give them some explanation for Harry's collapse.

She shook her head as she shrugged her shoulders. "His pulse is very rapid, and he is breathing too shallowly and rapidly. He is obviously unconscious but I don't know why or even what's wrong with him. Is there a medical facility close by?"

Sirius scooped his son out of Remus' arms and took off running for the hospital wing and Madame Pomfrey, leaving his stunned friend to lead Glynnis and Marybeth at a slower but still hurried pace.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was just heading into the Great Hall to wait for their guests to arrive for supper, when the huge oak entrance doors slammed open and Sirius Black ran in, a small figure draped across his arms. He recognized the mop of unruly black hair and turned in astonishment and surprise, "Sirius, what's wrong with Harry?"

Sirius barely looked over his shoulder as he ran past and up the broad stone steps, taking the risers two and three at a time in his hurry. "Don't know, Albus…Remus and the others are coming…ask them." He yelled over his shoulder before turning once more to running up the stairs, panting with the effort to speak as he continued at a full run.

Minerva and Severus exited the Great Hall when they heard the shouting and stopped to watch a flustered Headmaster looking up the stairs and then at the now slowly closing doors. The dark blue of Sirius' robes were just disappearing down the corridor towards the hospital wing when the entrance doors banged open once more, admitting a breathless Remus holding onto Glynnis with one hand and Marybeth with the other; all three of them with pink cheeks from running and panting from their haste.

Albus turned toward the rapidly approaching Remus and asked him, "What's wrong with Harry, Remus?"

Taking just a minute to catch his breath, Remus gasped out, "Don't know…we were coming toward the castle…and he just collapsed." He looked at over at Glynnis, his eyes asking for support.

"His pulse and respiration are very rapid, and he is unconscious, but I couldn't find any reason for any of it." Glynnis managed before Remus pulled her by the hand toward the staircase, intent upon reaching his 'nephew' as soon as they could.

The two wizards and one witch silently followed the small group as they all made their way toward the infirmary, and hopefully some answers, leaving a small group of students to gossip and wonder about what was happening in the Great Hall.

* * *

Poppy had her feet up on her desk, enjoying the blissful silence of a near empty castle. She loved her job and truly liked the children, well most of them, but she did appreciate a break from the constant worries every now and then. With only fifteen students staying in the castle over the Easter holidays, she didn't anticipate much work and was looking forward to restocking her supplies, ordering the inevitable paperwork that piled up during the school terms, and maybe even reading that wizarding romance novel that Xiomara Hooch had recommended.

When the infirmary doors slammed open with a loud bang, her feet hit the floor and her cup landed on her desk, splashing her forgotten tea onto the surface. Without a conscious thought, she was on her feet and heading toward the emergency before the doors had swung back.

"Put him on the bed there, Sirius. What has he done to himself now?" Harry was very familiar to the Medi-witch after his many adventures. She had her wand out and spelling diagnostic charms before Harry's head hit the pillow. She stopped and looked at the boy lying so still against the white of the hospital ward bed and blinked. She repeated the spell and blinked once more, giving a small gasp of sound as what she was seeing finally registered.

Sirius had grabbed her by her upper arm when she gasped, swinging her around to face him. His face showed a mixture of shock and dread as he whispered, "What's wrong, Poppy …what has happened to him?"

"I don't know yet, Sirius…let me work." She pulled her arm out of the man's tight grip, probably gaining a few bruises in the process as she walked rapidly over to the potions cabinet, muttering imprecations under her breath as she pawed through the vials looking for the two she needed.

As she reached the back of the cabinet and drew out the oddly colored potion, Snape's eyes widened in shock and Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled merrily. The others looked at the potion in her hands with confusion. The small vial contained a viscous fluid, almost the consistency of melted ice cream, but it was colored like no ice cream ever would. Swirls of black, grey and blood red made a mesmerizing mix as they ebbed and flowed, never mixing as they constantly moved, seemingly alive. The second vial was a generic pepper up potion, very familiar to all the witches and wizards present, so they turned their attention back to the very disturbing potion.

"Are you sure, Madame Pomfrey?" Snape's usually sarcastic voice held just a touch of uncertainty as he looked between the vial and the still form on the bed. He noticed the clenched fists of both Sirius and Remus and drew back to his usual stance, arms folded across his chest in stern defiance, refusing to show any concern he might feel for the small boy. He had come to respect Harry for his determination and painful perseverance in overcoming the horrific injuries he had sustained at the hands of his cousin; he had even made a somewhat grudging peace with Sirius and Remus, but that didn't mean he liked the men or that he would allow anyone to know that he actually cared what happened to Harry.

"Look for yourself, Severus. I ran the test thrice and came up with the same results. I know you are familiar with the spell, I've seen you use it." Poppy was busy propping up pillows behind Harry's head and dribbling small amounts of the thick liquid into his mouth as Remus helped and Sirius accosted Dumbledore for an answer to what the blazes was going on.

Snape pulled his own ebony wand and swished it in a complicated and precise manner over the boys' chest, the widening of his eyes the only sign of his surprise. He looked at Albus, unwilling to accept the evidence of his own wand. "How can that be, Headmaster?" he whispered softly, too quiet for the others to hear.

"Ah, I believe that Mr. Potter might be the one to ask that, Severus. I believe that he is coming around now." The old man's blue eyes were twinkling like a drunken lightening bug.

Harry scrunched his eyes tightly shut, the glare of the hospital wing too bright for his headache. He could see the magic in the castle as he had never seen it before. The glare of bright white light was causing his head to throb with each beat of his heart and he didn't know how to block the overload of magic out. As he struggled, feeling the calming touch of his father stroking a hand through his hair, he could hear a soft, feminine voice in his head.

"**_I am sorry child. I did not mean to overwhelm you so. It has just been so long since I have been awake, that I did not realize I was hurting you. I have blocked some of the magic for you. It is all right for you to open your eyes now. The others are worried about you, I will return later to help train you but for now I shall just wait."_** The voice had an echo of great wisdom as well as immense age to it. As the voice had faded, so had the overwhelming pulse of magic, so that Harry was finally able to open his eyes and look up into the loving but very worried face of his father.

"Are you all right now, son? Can you tell us what happened?" Sirius prompted.

"I'm not sure, Dad. I was just feeling the wards welcome me, like they always do and then it was just too much. I don't know…I mean it's never happened like that before."

"You feel the wards of the castle welcome you?" Dumbledore asked gently as the others looked on in various states of shock and surprise.

"Well, yeah…I mean…doesn't everyone…" His voice trailed off as he realized the question meant that they obviously didn't feel the same things that he did.

"I've always been able to feel the magic around me…I can see an aura, I guess on everyone…even muggles, though theirs is really faint and I have to really look for it. And I can tell if an object is magical or if it has a curse or hex on it. It used to give me headaches before I learned to block it out unless I wanted to look." Harry looked down at the blanket that was covering him and picked at a stray thread in confusion, afraid he was doing something wrong somehow.

Sirius sat down beside Harry and pulled his son into his lap, cuddling him close to his chest. "I think that's wonderful Harry. I always knew that you were special and that just proves it more." He leaned down and kissed the crown of messy hair.

Harry looked up into the expectant eyes of everyone around him and tried to explain more. "Well, I can normally feel the edge of the wards as a … warm…something…a welcome, I guess. But today it felt like my wand came alive as I crossed the wards and then…I don't know how to explain it…but somehow the castle woke up…" He shrugged his shoulders in frustration at not being able to explain exactly what he had felt.

Poppy entered the conversation for the first time. "That sounds very reasonable, Mr. Potter, since I had to treat you for a massive overload of magic. In fact, your own magical core has expanded and increased to an amount I have never seen in anyone but the strongest adult witches or wizards before."

Sirius jerked his head up and looked between the Medi-Witch and Snape. "How much?" Just the barest hint of fear crept into his tone as he looked from one to the other for answers.

Snape's mouth twisted with distaste before answering. "He is as strong as a full grown wizard right now, with the potential to exceed anyone I have ever met; including the Headmaster… and the Dark Lord."

* * *

AN: Sorry it's been so long but RL has been hectic and this chapter just didn't flow at all. I have had to work at every paragraph and am discouraged about how it turned out. But I am already working on the next installment and it is flowing much better so there is hope. 


	14. Chapter 14: TestingOneTwo

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

AN: Thanks to everyone for being so patient in waiting for the next chapter. I don't know if fanfiction will be up and running when I post this so I will also send out a notification from my homepage on Yahoo.

Chapter 14: Testing…One…Two…Three

Sirius slumped down onto the bed next to Harry and dropped his head into his hands as Snape's words played over and over in his befuddled brain. 'How am I to keep Harry safe, what can we do to train him, Remus and I are almost pushed beyond our capabilities as it is…' he thought as Glynnis came to stand beside him, her arm warm and comforting on his shoulders.

Sirius looked up and glanced between Harry and Dumbledore. "Well, what do we do now? How can we help Harry regain control if his magical core has just expanded?" Remus nodded his head in agreement with his best friend and looked expectantly at the Headmaster.

Albus' blue eyes were twinkling like the lights of a Las Vegas Strip hotel on New Year's Eve as he rubbed his hand up and down his beard, his whirling thoughts visible as he twisted his lips and wrinkled his brow.

Marybeth had climbed up on Harry's bed and was leaning against her best friend. He had sat up while Snape was talking and the two preteens now sat, leaning together, their feet swinging in tandem off the side of the high hospital bed. Harry was looking around the room, taking in the various expressions on all of the adults now staring at him.

"Uh, Dad…Hogwarts told me she would be waiting for me and that she would help in training…do you know what she meant?" Harry's impossibly green eyes widened as the new information was processed by the group surrounding him. Even Snape looked a little gobsmacked before he managed to lock down his emotions once more. Dumbledore smiled like a bizarre elderly reincarnation of Gilderoy Lockheart as he took a step closer to the two sitting on the bed.

"Well, young Harry, I suppose we must listen to the lady then and you and your father and uncle must come to live in the castle; at least until your magic is once again under your complete control. Perhaps the young miss would like to begin schooling early also; after all, you must have someone your age to share your adventures with." Harry and Marybeth looked excited, Remus and Sirius looked shell shocked, Glynnis was looking a little nauseous and Snape looked horrified that there would be even younger children at the castle, let alone his childhood tormenters' offspring.

* * *

After plying the poor child with another foul tasting potion, Pomfrey finally released Harry from the hospital wing. He and Marybeth ran down the stairs toward the Great Hall, stopping every few feet while Harry pointed out some wonder of the wizarding world to his best friend.

The six adults walked at a more sedate pace, each one lost in their own thoughts as they followed the excited children toward their interrupted dinner. The fifteen students who had remained during the Easter holidays had all left the Great Hall, as had the uninvolved staff. Only tiny little Professor Flitwick and the half giant Hagrid remained behind, enjoying a conversation about some bizarre magical creature while they shared a friendly after dinner cup of tea.

* * *

After much discussion, it was decided that not only Sirius, Remus, and Harry would move into guest quarters in the castle, but Glynnis and Marybeth would also. Sirius had been gently pressuring Glynnis to quit her job and move into the Manor, but now she would just move into adjacent quarters to the three wizards. Professor McGonagall was eager to have the Muggle nurse completely revamp their current Muggle studies curriculum, after all, who would know more accurate information about Muggles than a Muggle.

After a long evening that included the basic tour of the huge castle, the five settled into their spacious new guest quarters. Sirius had sent a Hogwarts house elf back to Potter Manor with directions for their own elves to deliver the necessities for a few days stay The adults planned to return soon to pack everything they would need for an extended stay as Harry and Marybeth were taught by the various professors.

The next night Glynnis was snuggled up with her head on Sirius' shoulder as she tried to organize all of the new information she had found out that day. "I will have to give at least two weeks notice to the hospital, but I do have almost a month of holiday time accumulated. I might be able to use that as my notice. But how will I be able to pay Marybeth's tuition and buy all of her supplies. It was most generous of Dumbledore to supply these rooms and all meals and supplies we need while I am revising the Muggle Studies course work, but surely that won't take very long to do." She reached over and kissed Sirius' neck as he leaned his head back on the sofa. Of course she had no idea yet of exactly how atrocious and wrong the entire Muggle studies course material actually was. Or that there was five years worth of books on the subject waiting for her to write before the next fall term began.

"I need to explain something to you about my family and Harry's family. I haven't truly explained my finances to you but I think now is the time to do it. Harry is the last child in a very long and very wealthy family. His ancestors trace clear back to the Founders of Hogwarts, and in fact, he is the magical and blood heir of both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Of course since they were husband and wife; that is only logical. There was some speculation that Lily's mother and grandmother were squibs and not Muggles. They just were too complacent and understanding of the Magical world when Lily first manifested accidental magic. But Lily could never prove it, and it really didn't mean too much to her or James so they never investigated it fully. I am waiting until Harry is older to ask him if he would like to pursue finding his ancestry or not, it should be his choice after all." He leaned over and kissed Glynnis, relishing the slightly salty taste of her deep kiss. He pulled his mind back to the conversation and continued.

"My family is almost as old, but not nearly as prestigious. The Blacks earned the name Black honestly as most of them were dark wizards. Not all dark wizards are evil, but they tend to use dark spells and blood magic and rituals which light wizards don't use. And the Blacks were notorious for following almost every evil wizard that has appeared. I am also the last in a dwindling line and my family is even wealthier than the Potter's were. I have taken steps to disown both of my cousins who are supporters of the evil wizard, Lord Voldemort, that killed Harry's Mum and Dad, so there is only myself, Harry, my cousin Andromeda and her daughter Tonks left in the direct succession."

He turned to face his fiancé fully and took both of her hands in his. "I know that you didn't know I was well off when we met or when we first started dating. And that was very important to me. It has been a problem in the past, as I always wondered if the girl was interested in me because of my family's wealth or not. But I know that you love me and Harry for just us. The fact that neither one of us would ever have to work a day in our lives and still leave our descendants filthy rich hasn't been a factor in our relationship. And the wizarding world is rather old fashioned in the man taking care of the finances, and that world includes both you and Marybeth now. Also, you need to know that divorce is almost unheard of in our world; our marriage vows bond the two souls together in a way that a muggle marriage never could. Because you are a Muggle, my magic will bind us both, otherwise the husband's magic binds the wife and the wife's binds the husbands. It forms a deep bond that Muggles take many years to form and so divorce if extremely rare, almost non-existent. Do you have any questions?" he kissed the top of her head as she struggled to understand everything he was telling her.

"You are telling me, you are not only comfortable, but bloody loaded? And that a marriage is a heart bond and not just a piece of paper? What will this mean for Marybeth?"

"If it is all right with you, when we are married, I would like to formally adopt Marybeth as both my magical and blood heir. It means she would receive some of the family gifts and special abilities that the Blacks have and would become Harry's actual brother, since I did the same for him. She would also look more like a combination of the both of us, just like Harry gained some of my physical characteristics when I first adopted him. It is a short ritual and quite binding, but it doesn't hurt, other than a ritual pricking of the finger for seven drops of blood."

Glynnis just stood up and pulled Sirius up by his hands and into a rib cracking embrace. This man was offering her not only his love but his whole life, his magic and a secure future. She was unable to express her feelings so she just turned, and still holding onto both of his hands, led him into her bedroom.

* * *

The next morning, Glynnis had discovered the joys of portkey travel back to her apartment so that she could go to work as usual. She was still reeling from the depth of Sirius' love, and the new knowledge that she hadn't yet been able to assimilate. She had told him she would decide by Friday if she would give notice or not, but she knew deep in her heart that she would. After ten years in the I.C.U. unit she was beginning to burn out, and really would appreciate the relief of not dealing with critically ill and dying patients every day. Plus she would become a part of the new world her daughter was embracing so eagerly and spend a lot of time with the man she loved so deeply.

As she grabbed her purse, straightening her uniform and grabbing her car keys, she rushed from the small apartment she had called home for the last ten years, anxious to reach the hospital and give notice.

* * *

While Glynnis was driving her small Cooper to the hospital, Professors Flitwick, McGonagall, and Snape joined Harry and Marybeth in a well warded classroom with Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore. "Now, Harry I need you to demonstrate what you have been learning with Remus in your lessons if you would." Dumbledore moved everyone back behind a strong shield, after all no one knew exactly what had happened to him yesterday.

"Take it easy with me Pup, no broken bones if you can help it." Remus was only partly joking with Harry, but he was carefully schooling any sign of fear off of his face as he stood up to face the boy.

Harry just nodded with an impish grin and pulled his wonderful new wand out of the pocket in his sleeve that the elves had made for it. "Are you ready, Uncle Moony?"

A strange glow seemed to spread all around the ten year old when he took the wand into his hand and held it out to the ready. The room filled with a peaceful and overwhelming feeling of strength, great wisdom and age as everyone slumped to the floor, their legs and indeed their whole bodies now totally limp in the presence of such power. A deep but very feminine voice echoed around the large stone classroom, seeming to be both inside and outside their heads at the same time.

_**Welcome to all who strive to teach my heir, the defenders of the school, the family of the child and all those who strive to drive back the coming darkness. I am the Spirit of Hogwarts and I shall assist in the training of my children and their tutors.**_

No one in the room could have said how long they remained bonelessly limp on the stone floor, as time had very little meaning for any of the occupants. From Marybeth, who knew very little of magic or even of being a witch, to Albus, who's over one hundred and fifty years of learning made him the undisputed leader of the wizarding world, Hogwarts was implanting the lessons they would need directly into their brains at a blindingly rapid pace. The knowledge would be there for them, but they would need to find it within themselves, and then practice it to become truly proficient and able to actually use the wisdom the ancient castle was filling their brains with.

Marybeth was the first to recover, as a new witch, the information she had received was less complicated than the others. She stood up and ran to Harry first, but shaking him did nothing, so she ran to where Remus and Sirius were slumped down, their robes splashed out all around them as they lay motionless and still.

"Uncle Remus…Sirius…wake up…wake up…" She had tears of panic and stress making dirty streaks down her cheeks as she shook the two men as hard as she could. As they both groaned and almost simultaneously put hands up to their equally throbbing temples, groans could be heard issuing from Professors Flitwick and McGonagall as they also tried to sit up, pushing up from the cold stone floor with trembling arms. McGonagall's neat bun was hanging lopsided and long strings of brown hair with graying streaks stuck out at odd angles from her head and her glasses perched crookedly on her nose but she didn't notice either one. She used a strong but still trembling hand to touch the Headmasters head as a shaking and rattled Filius took it upon himself to rouse the still comatose Potions Master. Sirius had scooped Harry up off the cold floor and had him draped across his lap as he sat on his haunches, rocking gently back and forth, a tuneless humming noise the only sound he was making while he buried his face into Harry's sweet smelling but very messy black hair.

Filius managed to get Snape sitting up, his face completely hidden behind his lanky black hair as he buried his throbbing head into his quivering hands. Involuntary little groans and moans came from almost everyone as they moved to stretch and release tensed muscles.

Snape was the first to be able to talk, "What the _bloody hell_ was that!" Shock and outright panic were still clear on his normally taciturn and emotionless face.

Minerva had managed to rouse the Headmaster by placing a conjured flannel dripping ice water on the ancient wizard's forehead, and he was just sitting up with a lot of assistance from his Deputy Headmistress as he managed to croak out an answer to his colleague. "I think that was Hogwarts letting us know that she is once more awake, Severus…and she doesn't seem to be too pleased with what has been happening between her houses." He grabbed the offered hand and pulled himself up, thanking Minerva as she helped him over to a nearby student's desk before slumping gratefully into an identical desk right beside him.

Snape pushed away the Charms Professors hands and bit off a groan as he forced himself upright, hoping no one noticed the slight wobble in his stance. "Well… I for one could have used a little advance notice…or a _lot_ of advanced notice before having that happen." He didn't seem to realize he had actually made a small joke as he walked, stiffly and unwilling to admit to the pounding in his head and the residual weakness in his body as he took a desk beside the other two, Filius still walking beside him. He reaching into his teaching robes and took out a small leather pouch and his wand. After expanding the pouch into a fairly large potions case by tapping it with his wand, he opened it and passed around single dose vials of headache remedy and a general purpose restorative to his grateful companions.

"Miss Batiste, if you would?" He held out vials for the others that were still on the floor to the girl, as she seemed to be the least affected by the awakening of Hogwarts. Harry was just beginning to twist in Sirius' arms, a low groaning moan letting them know that he was also waking up. Sirius accepted the four vials, gratefully drinking his own two before carefully feeding the last two to his son. Remus stood up shakily after drinking his own potions and allowed Marybeth to clutch him tightly as they managed to find chairs. Sirius just pushed back and up to his feet in a move that looked rather painful to the others, as his knees popped loudly in protest, before he joined them, Harry still in his arms, his small head lolling against his father's strong shoulder as he continued to slowly rouse.

"Well, I think that nothing more will be accomplished this morning. I for one will need quite some time to sort out everything I was told by Hogwarts, so I suggest we return to our quarters for the time being and I will see all of you later for dinner in the Great Hall. Just call an elf for lunch if you like, I will leave orders for them to assist in any way you might need." Albus stood up, stopping for a moment until the room ceased spinning, before offering a gentlemanly arm to Minerva as the two left the classroom. Filius was strangely silent as he walked out of the room right behind them, his normal cheery manner completely gone for the nonce.

Snape stood, his intimidating and snarky manner completely subdued and absent for once before he turned, and with a billowing sweep of his black robes, left the room, reciting what seemed to be potions recipes under his breath as he stalked out. Even Peeves took one look at his face and floated off down the corridor in the other direction.

Sirius managed to get Harry fully awake and standing up, before the two children followed Remus and Sirius out and back to their guest quarters, both pairs whispering excitedly to each other as they walked.

* * *

The same group, plus Glynnis who had happily given back her holiday time in lieu of notice, had gathered rather apprehensively together in the same classroom the next morning to try once more to ascertain exactly what they needed to teach to Harry. So he once more drew his wand, hesitating slightly to hold it out from his body in the dueling position after what had happened just the day before. But as he stood waiting in nervous apprehension, nothing untoward occurred. He shrugged his shoulders and gave a lop-sided grin at his Uncle Remus who stood across the room from him.

At Remus' reluctant nod, Harry began to show the gathered crowd exactly what his Uncle had been teaching him. Poor Remus was levitated, spun, turned blue, changed into a small grey kitten and back, he was drenched and then blow dried before being hit with both a tickling jinx and jelly legs at the same time. As Remus twitched uncontrollably on the floor while giggling madly, Dumbledore released the shield and cancelled the spells on the poor werewolf.

As Marybeth showed the others everything that she had learned since beginning lessons at Christmas, Professor Snape pulled Harry aside and began to question the boy on his potions knowledge. He had expected the boy to be a complete dunderhead but was pleasantly surprised to find a keen intellect and an insatiable curiosity about how and why the many ingredients used in potions worked as they did. Snape refused to show any emotion on his face, but he would consent to tutor the boy privately until school began next fall with only a token amount of complaints. And after the boy formally began school, he might even allow himself to be 'reluctantly' convinced to continue his lessons.

Minerva had her turn with young Harry next and found him to be a bright and eager learner. He had a solid foundation in the theory behind transfiguration, but he had little practical experience. He eagerly listened to her directions however and managed each task she set for him with only a few tries. McGonagall gave a rare smile of approval to both Sirius and Remus before nodding her acceptance of the boy as a private student.

Filius was bouncing so hard, the little wizard seemed more house elf than wizard. Harry knew quite a few charms since he had been exposed to them for most of his life. Anything really useful had been preformed so many times in his presence that he just seemed to naturally be able to cast them. He changed his clothes, made Marybeth float and swoop through the air as she giggled madly, he used charms to tell the time, light and extinguish the fire and the torches and easily handled every first year task and half of the second years coursework before Flitwick was satisfied and called a halt to the testing.

As the group left to walk down to the Great Hall for lunch, the adults discussed the lessons for the two very bright children that were skipping ahead of them, hands joined together as they stopped every once in a while to talk to an interesting portrait.

* * *

Madame Hooch had gleefully volunteered to oversee the two children for the afternoon down at the Quidditch pitch so the adults could meet and finally discuss the monumental events of the previous afternoon without little ears listening in. She had gathered several of the other students that had stayed over for the Easter holiday and they were all going down to teach Harry and Marybeth the fundamentals of playing Quidditch. Harry had of course been flying with Sirius and Remus for years, but this would be the young witch's first time flying so Harry had been alternating with brotherly advice and then tormenting her as they all ran giggling out the front doors of the castle.

Dumbledore escorted everyone involved up to his office and after they had all settled in with drinks and biscuits he began the discussion with his own observations and conclusions. "I am assuming that each of us received different…instructions…guidance…what ever word can be used to describe the experience best for you…yesterday afternoon. I was given priceless information on strengthening the existing wards around Hogwarts and even suggestions on improving them and adding to them, also information on the castle herself that has been long lost, such as how to find hidden rooms, even a separate library that was intended for the exclusive use of the Headmasters and Headmistresses that had been lost when a fairly young Headmaster was killed accidentally before passing the knowledge on to his chosen successor. As well as lost information in several fascinating areas, that I will keep to myself for the time being as they have little bearing on the discussion at hand. If it is not too personal, I would like to hear of the types of instruction and guidance each of you received." He leaned forward over his desk, his arms folded and his hands clasped together in front of him in eager anticipation.

Minerva looked around the room before clearing her throat softly. "I, for one, do not mind sharing. I was given information that will make teaching transformations, particularly advanced animation and animagus transformation much easier. There was also information about the castle that will help in my duties as Deputy, including classroom modifications, scheduling simplification and several useful spells that will manage traffic between classes much easier. There was also some personal information about several areas of individual research that I have been interested in for many years. I really have so much new information, that I am having difficulty even sorting it to begin to utilize any of it."

The group turned as one to look between Filius and Severus. The bouncy little Charms Professor began speaking, his normal squeaky voice even more high pitched in his excitement. "I now have knowledge of two areas of study that have been lost for generation. Many of the construction charms that were used to build this magnificent edifice as well as up keeping spells and charms for healing, and, one subject I am very excited about, how to safely increase comprehension and learning ability in students. I also have several references now to teaching both wandless and wordless magics at a much younger age than has ever been thought possible." He turned to look at Sirius and Remus, "With your permission gentlemen, I would like to work out some of the techniques I have been given with both Harry and Marybeth over the summer." When they both nodded, he settled back, smiling in deep contentment and burgeoning excitement.

Snape tried to sneer, but it lacked its usual depth as he tried not to show any excitement and failed. "I have been given access to a private library of potions grimoires and research papers belonging to over twenty former Headmasters and Headmistresses, including Slytherin and Hufflepuff that haven't been seen for generations. I think I have been given enough new information to work on both a cure for the werewolf curse and a palliative that will make the cruciatis curse no more painful than a simple tickling hex." He couldn't help the small upturning of his lips as he observed the totally gobsmacked expressions all around him.

Glynnis was looking bewildered about the conversations, so Sirius leaned over to her and whispered that he would explain everything to her later. She smiled and nodded her agreement before turning to look at Remus as he began speaking. "I have been given much the same information as Filius, as well as information on how to teach more defense strategies and spells to Harry. I have been tasked with being his Defense tutor as well as his physical fitness trainer. Since I have several 'enhancements' that give me more stamina and strength I shall endeavor to teach him as best I can. I have also been tasked with helping Severus in his research and 'prompted' to investigate and report on my observations as I transform that will help in understanding how to stop them from occurring. I have also been tasked to work with Minerva in discovering if the involuntary transformations can be evolved into a more voluntary and therefore much less painful process before the cure is developed." Glynnis looked even more bewildered than she had, but Sirius just squeezed her hand, patting it gently with his other hand as he described his conversation with Hogwarts.

"I was tasked with more general instructions on how to keep Harry balanced and mentally focused. I am to teach him the mind arts as well as several of the Black and Potter family secrets. I am tasked with being his grounding force as he grows; his point of stability and strength, his foundation so to speak. I am also to help with Filius and Remus in teaching him wandless and wordless magics. I have also been given the task to keep his life 'fun' which I shall endeavor to do to my utmost ability." He shot a malicious grin at the horrified expression on Snape's face. He relented and reluctantly told the sour man, "Don't worry, he's really nothing like James. After his early years of living with the Dursley's he is outraged at bullying and his pranks tend to be the mutual and innocent childish pranks between friends, I have never seen him do anything to intentionally hurt or embarrass anyone who was not perfectly willing and able to retaliate. He really is much more like Lily, no matter how much he looks like James and I." He turned his attention to the Headmaster. "I have also been tasked with researching into his ancestry fully and finding some way of developing all of his hidden talents as fully as he is able."

Dumbledore was gleefully rubbing his hands together, his smile growing wider as each of his colleagues spoke made his twinkling blue eyes brighter and brighter. As he began planning how he could use all of this information to the best against Voldemort he felt a sharp mental blast and heard a voice in his head admonishing him. **_Remember he is first and foremost a child, Albus. Not some pawn to be sacrificed on your chessboard. He is the one, the Chosen One and cannot be easily replaced. Like you could be._** The voice faded once more into just a gentle background hum in his mind.

The others in the room watched the Headmaster as he seemed to zone out for a moment before a fearful and startled expression crossed his face. He gulped rather loudly, and wiped his trembling hand over his face before forcing a smile and beginning to plan how to best integrate that tasks that had been set for each of them.

* * *

Glynnis had settled her affairs in the Muggle world, sublet up her apartment, and moved most of their belongings into the Potter mansion over the next few weeks. Sirius looked so happy, that both Harry and Remus kept teasing the poor man about bursting.

Marybeth was mostly being tutored in the basics of magic by Remus in the afternoon. She and Harry took the floo each morning from Dumbledore's office to the wizarding primary school and returned to Hogwarts just in time to walk with the old Headmaster down to lunch in the Great Hall.

Harry almost glowed with happiness, he was now living at Hogwarts; he had a new Mum and a sister who was also fast becoming his best friend in the whole world. His lessons were fun and challenging and he liked all of his teachers, even the old sour puss Professor Snape was full of fascinating information and wonderful potions that he was teaching him.

* * *

Life settled into a routine for the new family as the school year progressed inexorably toward summer. Wizarding Primary in the morning, then lunch followed by lessons with Remus or whichever Professor had a free period. And a multitude of new friends to make once classes were over. Because Harry and Marybeth belonged to no house, they were allowed to sit at whatever house table they wanted to. They rapidly made friends from every house and delighted in spending time in the different common rooms.

The two were both saddened and excited when the Hogwarts students dragged their trunks down to climb into the carriages to take the Hogwarts Express train home for the summer holidays. They waved madly at their friends, promising to send letters to each other and to meet up if they could.

* * *

Sirius and Glynnis were to be married on the first of July and then the two newlyweds would be leaving for a month of travel on the Continent. Remus and the children would be staying at Hogwarts for a couple of weeks before returning to Potter Manor where they would take a break from all studies and just enjoy being children for a while. Remus had all sorts of activities and sleepovers planned so that they could keep in contact with their friends from both the castle and their Wizarding Primary school.

And when Glynnis and Sirius returned on the 29th, the whole gang would be leaving to celebrate Harry's eleventh birthday on a small island in the Bermuda triangle that belonged to the Black family. The rest of the summer hadn't been planned and they would just do whatever they felt like when the mood hit them, or so Sirius and Remus insisted.

* * *

AN: Next Chapter is the wedding, the adoption and the summer activities. I start school tomorrow, if I can get out of my parking lot that is. We have been iced in for the last three days and it is getting rather old. I also have a new laptop ordered and it is to be delivered on the 24th so I should be able to update more frequently after that. Thanks for the reviews and support from all of you, as well as the patience to keep waiting for updates. 


	15. Chapter 15: Summer before Hogwarts

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

AN: Thank you for being so patient and waiting for this update. I have to say I was almost tempted to go back several chapters and delete Glynnis and Marybeth, I wasn't completely sure I wanted them as characters, but I decided to leave them in, unless I get overwhelming responses to go back and rewrite. Let me know if you care one way or another. I appreciate all of the encouragement from my readers; it really helps me when it is time to write the next chapters.

Chapter 15: Summer before Hogwarts

Remus didn't know who was more excited about the upcoming wedding, Sirius and Harry, or Glynnis and Marybeth. The two women were running around, trying to plan every last minute to absolute perfection, while Sirius alternated between sheer bliss and utter panic. Harry was just ecstatic about Glynnis officially becoming his mother and Marybeth his sister.

Because of the duel heritage of the two marrying, the couple decided they would hold two separate weddings rather that try to combine both Muggle and Wizard customs together. The first would be held at midnight on the Summer solstice at an ancient Druid shrine hidden deep in the Forbidden Forest in full Druidic rites, and would include the adoption of Marybeth by Sirius and the acknowledgement and magical binding of the little group into one family. The second ceremony would be a Muggle wedding for Glynnis' parents and extended family that her colleagues from the hospital would be invited to attend that would occur on July 1st at Marybeth's grandparent's house in Wiltshire.

Molly Weasley had been drafted to assist in planning the wizarding portion, since none of the others had much experience with wedding planning, although Albus had officiated at many ceremonies, he just usually showed up when he was told to rather than helping to plan them. So many evenings, Molly, Minerva and Glynnis could be found with their three heads bent over piles of parchments as they whispered and plotted, though the women frequently consulted both Filius Flitwick and Septima Vector for assistance in making sure the proper rituals and formulas where being used. None of the wizards could ever remember seeing the usually stern Transfiguration Professor giggling; it would be indelibly etched into their memories for all time.

Glynnis had just turned the planning of the Muggle ceremony over to her Mother and older sisters, who were perfectly happy with the task. Especially since Sirius had given them an almost unlimited budget to work with, stating that he didn't care if the bride's family was supposed to foot the bill, since they had paid for Glynnis' first wedding, it would only be fair for him to pay for the second. Marybeth had spent an entire afternoon complaining to anyone who would listen, and even those who didn't care, about being forced to not only try on stupid frilly dresses, but her stupid Grandmother actually expected her to wear one for an entire day!

Harry laughed at his new sister until he had been informed that he would have to wear a white suit with a TIE all afternoon for the same occasion. Though it was evened out when he got to laugh at his Dad and Uncle Remus in their white muggle Tux's with little white bow ties and baby blue cummerbunds. The two children decided that the adults looked so stupid that no one would be paying much attention to either of them. That was until Minerva and Glynnis forced them to add dancing lessons to their schedule for two whole weeks.

Even Snape wasn't safe from the mad wedding planners as he had been drafted into being one of the groomsmen, since Sirius actually knew very few men that could function safely in the Muggle world, and there had to be a male paired with each of Glynnis' two sisters and her four cousins, all of whom demanded to be bridesmaids. Remus would of course be the best man at both ceremonies but for now, the sight of a scowling Severus Snape in a white muggle tux with a white tie, tails and a baby blue cummerbund was enough to send not only Harry and Marybeth into fits of giggles, it made Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkle like mad and Professor McGonagall's shoulders shake as she tried not to giggle like a schoolgirl. Snape glared at his colleagues and vowed painful and very prolonged deaths for each of them if they even mentioned his appearance ever again. Albus vowed not to mention a word to anyone, but he said nothing about passing around wizarding photos of the event!

* * *

As Harry and Marybeth trudged down into the deep and dank dungeons of Hogwarts for their last private tutoring session before the wedding, Harry was beginning to regret laughing at the sight of the dour potions master when his tux was being fitted, to tell the truth he was terribly frightened of the man. He had very little contact with him after he had been finally healed from the injuries inflicted upon him by his cousin Dudley, at the time he had been too much in pain and then thrilled at finally being allowed to live with Sirius and Remus, that he hadn't paid much attention to the towering figure who would sweep into his room, black robes billowing menacingly behind him. Snape would scan him with his long ebony wand, muttering darkly to himself, and then leave a box of small vials of foul tasting potions for Harry to take over the next several days. Snape rarely said anything to the recovering child, preferring to whisper quietly with Sirius and Remus before disappearing once again in a swirl of dark fabric.

But now, he and Marybeth had been taking private lessons with the wizard, and both children had learned quickly to have a healthy respect and fearful obedience to the man who tolerated no disobedience or playing in his classroom. The one time Harry and Marybeth had even attempted to fool the man by having their ingredient vials labeled wrong, Snape had thoroughly chastised and berated the two for a solid quarter of an hour before sending them from the classroom, refusing to even consider a lesson that day. It hadn't helped that the Headmaster had caught them slinking back toward their quarters, and looked disappointed in them before sending them to Glynnis who added another quarter hour of yelling at the pair before grounding them for a full week. And she meant grounding them in a literal manner, she had confiscated their brooms!

So now Harry's stomach was clenching and his face was slightly green as he remembered the look of pure malice that had graced Professor Snape's face when Harry had almost fallen down laughing at the sight of the man dressed up in white and baby blue.

The two children stopped in front of the solid wooden door to the potions classroom and looked at each other, gulping loudly as they each dared the other to knock.

"You do it." whispered Harry.

"No, you've known him longer, you do it!" Marybeth hissed back.

"You do it…I'm not gonna do it!"

"You have to…"

"Do not…"

"Do too…

"Do not…you do it…"

"For Merlin's sake, just open the door and come in instead of hissing like two snakes in the corridor!" A silky baritone spoke from behind the closed door.

Harry shrugged helplessly and opened the door, following the witch up to the table set up for their lesson at the front of the classroom. They both looked down, almost afraid to meet their teacher's eyes as they slid onto the two stools and looked at the small cauldrons surrounded by vials, flagons and various dried and fresh ingredients set out on the table for their use.

Harry saw the toes of a pair of black boots come into his line of sight and jerked his head up, looking straight into the ebony eyes of Severus Snape. He gulped loudly and wished he could just sink into the floor. He took in the pinched lips, the fine lines around Snape's narrowed eyes, and shrunk down; his shoulders slumping as he tried to make himself as small as possible. He unconsciously remembered the same look and its painful results on his Uncle Vernon's face. He could hear Marybeth gasp softly beside him.

"And why are we late, Mister … Grimm? Were we…plotting…again? Or have you little miscreants finally learned the dangers of …playing…in a potions lab? I thought even the miserable flea bitten mutt you call a father would have taught you the folly of using random ingredients in a potion." Harry could feel the teacher's hot breath on his cheek as he leaned over, menacingly, his voice more terrifying for his calm cold speech than if he had been ranting or yelling.

"Uh, yes Sir. Uh…no …we weren't plotting anything, sir and yes we have learned our lesson. We won't try anything … ever again, sir." Harry was nodding his head vigorously as Marybeth nodded hers in agreement, the two children shrinking back so far they were in danger of falling off their tall stools and onto the hard and dirty stone floor.

Snape turned with a swish of heavy black wool, silent but still fuming as he tapped his wand on the blackboard, the ingredients and brewing instructions for the simple burn salve the two had been assigned to learn about appeared in his spidery scrawl. With a sigh of relief, Marybeth and Harry began to prepare their ingredients.

* * *

The castle had been given an especially thorough cleaning by the ecstatic house elves before the wedding guests began arriving early on the morning of the 21st of June. Marybeth and Harry had been bouncing around the corridors for the last few days, and even threats from Professors Snape and McGonagall only lasted for a short while before the two very excited children could be found running through the empty corridors once more. Lessons had been canceled for the last week, as everyone had been too busy with last minute preparations for the very stylized and formal traditional Druidic wedding rituals that would be taking place shortly.

Sirius was threatening to stick Harry and Marybeth to the ceiling with a permanent sticking hex by the time lunch finally appeared in their quarters. The elves were busy, gleefully outdoing one another in the after wedding feast, so lunch was just a platter full of sandwich fixings, slices of fresh aromatic bread and a plate with juicy tomato slices and crisp slightly wet leaves of green and red lettuce. A bowl of muggle crisp bags and a second bowl of summer fruits completed the simple meal, but poor Sirius could do little more than pick at the thick sandwich Remus had assembled for him after making sandwiches for the two very excited children.

"Come on, Paddy, you need to eat that instead of mangling it." Remus' voice was softly chiding his best friend. "You need fuel to keep up your strength for tonight." Remus waggled his eyebrows suggestively while making sure the eagerly eating children were paying the adults no attention.

Sirius almost choked on the sip of pumpkin juice he was trying to swallow at the bizarre image of Remus wagging his eyebrows suggestively towards him.

"Uh…sorry….Moony…don't swing that way…uh…you know…." He managed to force out around uncontrolled coughing.

It was Remus' turn to choke on his sandwich as he glared at his best friend. He managed to swallow his bite without spitting or choking as his face turned bright red. He glowered darkly as he muttered, "For which I am truly thankful, Paddy. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that…though probably not as much as Glynnis will be after I tell her." He got a thoughtful expression and tapped one finger on his chin as if deep in thought.

Sirius blanched as he dropped his sandwich back on the plate. "You wouldn't dare, Moony…would you?"

Moony's face split wide in a huge grin. "Of course not, Paddy, now eat up so we can all get ready."

Sirius glanced down at his wristwatch and looked startled. "Okay you two, time to get cleaned up and dressed, or your mother will kill us."

Cramming the last quarter of his ham and cheese sandwich into his mouth, Harry leaped up and grabbed Marybeth's hand, dragging her to her feet as she leaned over to put her now empty glass onto the table. "Wait…I wasn't done drinking that!"

"Come on…I can't wait to see what Professor McGonagall has made Professor Snape wear. I heard her and Mrs. Weasley giggling about how it was even worse than the muggle tux!" The two disappeared around the corner leading to their bedrooms, the sound of their twin giggles echoing down the corridor.

Remus looked at Sirius and raised one eyebrow. Sirius snorted once, and then again as his shoulders began to shake. Remus forced his lips tightly together, but stifled sounds were making it out as he gulped loudly. Sirius raised a single black eyebrow back to his old friend as they both lost control and laughed loud and hard.

It was a few long minutes before Sirius got himself under control enough to force out, "I hope Albus shares those pictures." Remus just started laughing again as he grabbed his friends hand and dragged him down the hall after the children so he could help the groom into his formal robes.

* * *

Harry stood, shifting from one foot to the other, the pointed toes of his black dress boots pinching his toes. He ran his hands down the dark blue formal robes once more, trying to dry his sweaty palms without anyone noticing him. Marybeth stood beside him, her long nondescript brown hair forced into unnatural ringlets with the judicious use of tons of muggle hair spray after the judicious application of a hair curling spell from Molly Weasley. She had one hand nervously plucking at the wreath of white blossoms that adorned her head as the other hand twisted the ornate gold buttons on her own baby blue robes.

Harry knew he was supposed to be looking straight ahead but he couldn't help stealing glances through his long black eyelashes at the witches and wizards standing all around him waiting for the formal blessing to end and the ritual calling of the supplicants to sound. He could see the Headmaster, dressed for once in simple white robes with a plain golden rope tied around his waist for a belt, taking measured calm steps around the clearing. His long grey streaked white hair was bound back into a thick braid and his long beard was gathered every few inches with a rune covered leather tooled band. An intricately carved golden Celtic cross hanging from his neck caught and reflected the flickers of the candles being held by each participant and visitor as he moved and it swung free from behind his bound beard. Dumbledore was chanting softly as he walked around the interior of the stone circle, the hand brazier he was swinging leaving a pleasing aroma of sandalwood and fresh herbs that blended with the smells of the deep forest, earthy and clean with a hint of summer flowers.

The fifteen or so children who were part of the ceremony had been excused from the pre-ritual meditation and briefing but had been schooled in proper behavior and were standing beside their parents around the outer ring, too awed to do much but glance quietly around, the impression of ancient rituals and sacred sacrifices keeping even the youngest quiet and reverent. The dark space was encircled with ancient trees, rowan and oak that exuded a feeling of great age and wisdom. There was very little underbrush this deep into the Forbidden Forest, so Harry could see most of the others as they stood among the ancient forest that surrounded the clearing with the standing stones arranged in a rough circle, each face lit up by the long white taper each held in two hands in front of their chest, the flames flickering softly in the gently early summer breeze. The night was perfectly clear, the stars brightly shining overhead with a crescent moon just over the horizon adding very little light beyond the small circle each candle cast against the dark shadows of the forest.

When Dumbledore finished the third circuit of the circle, a soft rhythm of drums and tinkling bells started up, echoing through the forest so much that Harry couldn't tell exactly where the musicians were. He jumped involuntarily when the long mournful sound of a horn called the participants forward. He knew he was to walk slowly, keeping his steps in time to the rhythm of the drums that he could feel deep in his bones. It seemed like his heart was beating in time to the ancient rhythm. All around him, he could hear the others begin to chant something old and unintelligible to him. He knew it was ancient Gaelic but wasn't sure what the others were chanting now. He let out a breath in relief that he and Marybeth had been allowed to learn and recite their portion in English. It would have been impossible for him to learn it otherwise! He had been afraid that if he had to recite something in ancient Gaelic, Sirius might wind up married to the nearest mushroom or squirrel.

The group was almost within the stone circle now when Harry felt a shimmer, a palpable feeling of peace and great age that touched deep into his very soul. He almost felt like it was judging him, checking to see if he was worthy to enter the ancient sacred site. He regretted putting itching powder in Remus' dueling robes now, but the…whatever it was…let him pass anyway. He felt Marybeth grab his hand as the shimmer dropped behind them. He forced his hand to stop shaking as he clutched her trembling hand in his own. He could be strong for her, even if he was now just a little bit scared of what was going to happen.

Sirius and Glynnis stopped in front of Dumbledore and knelt down before him, their faces glowing white in the moonlight. The ancient mage pulled out an ornate golden flask with one hand from somewhere in his simple white robes. He turned to a waist high stone pillar that had been hidden in the shadows of the night and carefully grasped a rune covered stone bowl in his free hand. He held them both up to the night sky before pouring a thick amber liquid into the bowl from the flask. A twist of his wrist and the flask disappeared. He continued chanting as he dipped his long and crooked index finger into the liquid and traced a rune on Sirius' forehead and then briefly touched each of the backs of his hands and placed a drop on his lips. He turned and did the same to Glynnis as she looked up at him. Dumbledore then turned and went slowly around the circle, anointing each of the people there, from the oldest to the youngest as he went clockwise around the inside of the circle of people, chanting softly the entire time. Harry tasted honey and herbs as he felt the surprisingly warm touch of the slick oil on his forehead, hands and lips. Harry turned to look at Marybeth as the Headmaster anointed his soon to be sister and smiled in reassurance to her, squeezing her hand as he felt it tremble slightly. She looked at him and smiled her thanks as Dumbledore moved on past them until everyone had been touched.

Still holding hands, Marybeth and Harry now walked forward; their steps measured and in cadence to stand directly in front of a golden chalice with two ornate handles that Dumbledore had picked up from the stone altar. Harry stared at Marybeth's eyes as he spoke his portion of the poem that Sirius and Glynnis had written for them to say.

Because like roots we intertwine,  
Planted in a single place,  
your happiness is also mine,

Deep as love's first blood-borne sign  
in that most intimate of space.  
Because like roots we intertwine

And each for each the world design,  
wrestling towards a common grace,  
your happiness is also mine

Though shared in ways we can't define,  
too true to touch, too vast to trace.  
Because like roots we intertwine,

Obliterating every line  
that might divide our long embrace,  
your happiness is also mine

As you with nuptial vows combine  
that love might weave its buried lace.  
Like roots, your lives will intertwine.  
Then let your happiness be mine!

Marybeth stared back at Harry as she took a deep breath and recited her portion, watching Harry's face as he mouthed the words, helping her to remember them and to forget the hundred people watching them as they stood together in front of her Mum and her new Dad.

Because like roots we intertwine,  
living in a long embrace,  
your happiness is also mine,

Spilling over, just as wine  
must flood the heart's too narrow space.  
Because like roots we intertwine

And each for each must life define  
in ways too myriad to trace,  
your happiness is also mine,

A joy that knows no boundary line,  
or limit to its golden grace.  
Because like roots we intertwine

And over years did love refine,  
Planted in our single place,  
your happiness is also mine

As you with nuptial vows combine  
that love might weave anew its lace.  
Like roots, your lives will intertwine.  
Then let your happiness be mine!

After they were done reciting their poem, the two children turned and accepted the chalice, Harry holding it with his left hand while Marybeth held it in her right, the condensation on the cold gold making it hard to hold. They held it up above their heads so that Dumbledore could bend down and take a small sip, then turned and offered it first to Sirius and then to Glynnis, followed by Remus, Professor McGonagall and then Professor Snape. Harry's eyes widened involuntarily as he got his first close up look at the dour Potion's Master, who had a disgusted snarl plastered to his sullen face. He was robed in fine white silk with gold and crimson runes embroidered all over, a wide golden belt tied tightly around his thin waist. His black hair was actually shining clean and tied back with a golden band so that his very large ears stuck out. Harry supposed he let his hair hang down to hide the fact that his ears were every bit as large as his hooked nose! But the crowning glory was just that…a crown of woven white and red flowers with long trailing green leaves that hung artfully down the sides of his face, making him look like an overgrown potted plant. Harry gulped as the man glowered at him, forcing Harry and Marybeth to stand on tiptoe to hold the chalice high enough for him to take a reluctant sip, refusing to lean over or to bend his knees to help the two children reach his lips.

The circle seemed to go on forever but finally, the two reached the Headmaster once more and gratefully relinquished the still full and now much heavier feeling golden chalice to him before backing out of the center and back to stand beside Uncle Remus once more.

Albus turned and faced each person in the circle once more before lifting a heavy golden candelabrum with five unlit tall white candles in it. Sirius and Glynnis stood and came forward to stand beside Harry and Marybeth. Professor Snape came forward with a tarred and twisted wooden shaft about eighteen inches long that he spoke over.

"Asethwn 'r 'n grai deulu at caethiwa a hysgrifrwym 'u achos pawb byth. Ad 'r Dduwiau chymhorthdal 'u dangnefedd , hiachâd , ddedwyddwch a ddyhea buchedd.out."

His deep baritone sounding eerie in the deep forest night as he turned from the altar and handed the lit shaft to Sirius, who gave him a deep bow before reaching his hand to accept the firebrand. Sirius then turned and waited while Glynnis, Harry and Marybeth added their hands to his, Marybeth standing directly in front of Glynnis and Harry directly in front of Sirius.

The four stood waiting as Albus began to speak. As he explained the significance of each candle, the four reached forward slightly and lit another candle.

"The First Candle- is lit to honor and remember birth families. This is a time to acknowledge the separation of children from their birth families and siblings through adoption. It is a time to give thanks and gratitude to birth family for our child and their gift of life. It is also a time to remember the courage and difficult decisions made by birth family.

The Second Candle - honors adopted children and adults. We celebrate those who have joined our family through adoption. They have enriched our lives, challenged us, and blessed us. They have expanded our ability to love and to give.

The Third Candle - is in honor of the adoptive parents. We recognize those who have become parents through adoption. We support and encourage you in the joy and challenges of committed parenting. We honor you as a family. We honor you for the difficult decisions you have made.

The Fourth Candle - This candle is in honor of those waiting to become parents. As a way of waiting, you learn and prepare for your child to come. May you extend yourselves to and connect with others. We stand close to you in your excitement and frustration. We support you during this difficult time and look forward to the growth and expansion of your family.

The Fifth Candle - is in honor and respect of the magic that flows through the veins of each and every living creature. The magic of love and family that binds stronger than the strongest spell or potion, the magic that will let these four become as one, bound by blood and magic for all eternity."

After the final candle was lit, a warm feeling of peace and love filled the little glen, making the celebrants sigh and smile. Albus placed the candelabrum onto the alter, and removed a small grey stone bowl and a long, very sharp jeweled dagger. He reached out and took Sirius' right hand and pricked his index finger with the tip of the dagger. He squeezed four drops of thick red blood to fall into the shimmering white potion already in the bowl. After swirling Sirius' blood around seven times, clockwise while chanting, he repeated the process with each of the other three. When the final drop of Marybeth's blood was swirling into the liquid, a flash of brilliant crimson light glowed over the bowl for a moment before Albus handed the bowl to Sirius. The dark haired man smiled at the little group standing in anticipation in front of him before drinking a small sip. He then held the bowl for Glynnis to sip, then Harry and Marybeth. He returned to bowl to his own lips and finished off the small sip that was left. Harry felt the world begin to swim a little, almost like the night he had snuck a large swig of Uncle Remus' mulled mead when the werewolf was busy arguing something or other with his Dad.

Sirius put a long arm around his son and led him back out to the circle of standing people as Glynnis did the same for Marybeth. Harry leaned his head gratefully against the man's strong and warm side, as his eyes grew heavier and heavier, the chants blending into a monotone in the background as the world swam before his tired eyes. He jerked his head up when he heard his Dad chuckle at him before he realized he was being passed over to his Uncle Remus. Harry really didn't care who he was leaning up against by this point, his lack of sleep the night before, the letdown now that the excitement of anticipation was fading, and the very late hour all combined to put the boy to sleep on his feet.

The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur of chants and ceremonies, little bits of the rituals making it past the late night exhaustion of the preteens. The ritual sacrifice of a huge slab of red meat on the bonfire woke Harry from his standing doze. 'Hey, wait, where did the bonfire come from? What else did I miss?' he thought as he leaned tiredly against his Uncle Moony. He blinked sleepily to see Marybeth leaning against Moony's other side, her mouth slightly open and her eyes closed. Harry giggled when he realized that Moony's strong arm around her back and under her arm was probably the only thing holding his sister upright until he realized that his uncle was holding him upright in the same way.

He vaguely took notice of the Head of each family attending as they came forward and dropped a woven wreath of flowers and herbs on the bonfire, the smell of roasting beef and sweet herbs making Harry realize how long it had been since lunch.

With a last chant and a wave of his wand, the bonfire extinguished, the huge beef roast floated up and over to a waiting house elf and the ceremony was finally done. Sirius wrapped Glynnis in his arms and kissed her to the sound of cheers and claps before the two came over to where Remus was standing, a sleepy child leaning against each side as he held them up with an arm around each child's shoulders. Sirius scooped Harry up in his arms and laughed as Harry gave up the battle without even making a fuss, and let his head fall on his father's strong shoulder. Remus shook the hand that had been holding Harry up to force the circulation back into his numb fingers and then scooped up Marybeth just like Sirius had his son. Glynnis patted her daughter's back affectionately and whispered to Remus, "How long did they make it?"

Remus chuckled softly, "Just after they finished passing the blessing cup I think. But Harry did manage to wake up a couple of times; not Marybeth though, she's been out almost the whole last half. Even the lighting of the bonfire didn't make her jump."

The four slowly started back to the castle for the wedding feast, stopping frequently to accept congratulations and well wishes from their friends.

* * *

The newlyweds woke the sleeping children up when they reached the Great Hall and insisted the two stay awake long enough to eat something and then took them back to their quarters to say goodnight before leaving them with a house elf watching over them to return to the feast, which was still going on after dawn when the two still sleepy looking children managed to drag themselves into the Great Hall to say goodbye to the guests and then their parents.

Later that day, Dumbledore stood beside Professor McGonagall, his arm around her waist as they waved goodbye to the newlyweds and the last of the wedding party. Remus had taken the children back to Potter Manor by floo, Sirius and Glynnis were leaving from Hogsmeade on their honeymoon cruise and the last of the elves had managed to gather the last of the veritable mountain of wedding presents and delivered them to Potter Manor.

Severus Snape poked his head around the corner of the corridor leading down to the dungeons and spoke softly, "Are they all gone now? Is it safe?" He had endured more teasing and comments last night about his outfit than was safe for his personality before Dumbledore let him escape to his dungeons before the man completely lost what little control he had of his temper, and blasted the next person who commented on his outfit. Why he had agreed to take the position of Forest Guardian was beyond him, but he wouldn't have if he had any notion of the getup he would be forced to endure. Only threat of great bodily harm from both Albus and Minerva had gotten him out of his chambers in that awful getup.

Albus and Minerva turned as one and nodded. "Hrmmph, at least it's over and the castle is empty once more, as it should be." Snape actually snarled at the two beaming at him.

"Oh Severus, it wasn't that bad now was it?" Albus' eyes twinkled merrily, still under the influence of too much mulled mead and the all night party to recognize the dangerous glint in Snape's own eyes.

"You knew what those…_witches_…had planned for me, didn't you?" Minerva thought she heard something about 'senility' and 'barmy old coots' under his breath but she wasn't sure.

"Oh, no child…that was the traditional dress for the Forest Guardian. Surely you wouldn't have wanted to dress any other way but the traditional one, would you?" Albus was pushing it, but he didn't seem to realize it.

With another snarl and some dark muttering, Snape turned around sharply, his black teaching robes billowing menacingly behind him as he stomped down the stairs to his dungeons once more.

"I don't think I shall show him the photos of last night any time soon, shall I, my dear?" Albus was looking down at Minerva, a question in his eyes.

"No, no I suppose that would be for the best, Albus." She said with a small smirk and then added. "But that doesn't mean we can't look at them, now does it?"

The two shared a loud laugh before splitting up and heading to their quarters for some much needed sleep.

* * *

Asethwn 'r 'n grai deulu at caethiwa a hysgrifrwym 'u achos pawb byth. Ad 'r Dduwiau chymhorthdal 'u dangnefedd , hiachâd , ddedwyddwch a ddyhea buchedd.out means 'We join the new family to bind and bond them for all eternity. Let the Gods grant them peace, health, happiness and long life.'

AN: Well I had best head back to my term paper as it is due in a couple of days. Sorry it is so long between updates, but I really wasn't sure I just didn't want to go back and rewrite this without Glynnis and Marybeth in it. Thanks for putting up with me.


	16. Chapter 16: Adventures at the Burrow

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

AN: Thank you for being so patient and waiting for this update. I have to say I was almost tempted to go back several chapters and delete Glynnis and Marybeth, I wasn't completely sure I wanted them as characters, but I decided to leave them in, unless I get overwhelming responses to go back and rewrite. Let me know if you care one way or another. I appreciate all of the encouragement from my readers; it really helps me when it is time to write the next chapters.

Chapter 16: Adventures at the Burrow

Harry woke up late the next morning and stretched, feeling oddly sore; with little aches and pains he didn't remember getting. He took a long soaking bath with the special bath salts that his Dad supplied for when he was sore after physical training and thought nothing else about it as he got dressed for the day. As he pulled on his shoes, he noticed he had apparently had another growth spurt since he didn't remember quite so much of his white socks showing between the bottom of his jeans and his trainers. He shrugged and went back into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

He put the toothpaste on his toothbrush, ran it under the water to get the bristles wet and raised his head, putting the toothbrush in his mouth only to freeze at the image looking back at him from the mirror. His green eyes wide with surprise, his mouth slack and a small dribble of toothpaste and spit running down the side of his chin he leaned forward to get a much better look.

His hair was flat to his head, slightly longer than it had been and it had a distinct reddish cast rather than just black. He had lost most of the round baby face that he detested and his chin was stronger, his face more angular. He pulled the almost forgotten toothbrush out of his mouth, sucked up the spit from his lip and wiped his mouth with his arm as he continued to study his now older looking face. He raised one eyebrow like Professor Snape liked to do and tilted his head slightly. No, he still looked stupid doing that, no matter how hard he tried; he just couldn't get the scowling glower down right.

He was still busy, turning his body this way and that, trying to tell if anything else had changed when Marybeth threw open the door to his room and ran in, not bothering to knock.

"Harry…Harry…come out here, now!" She yelled imperiously at her now official brother. "I look like Sirius now, come and see!"

Harry opened the door to the bedroom and almost slipped on the slick bathroom tile as he tried to run out of the bathroom. He stopped suddenly, looking Marybeth up and down before he walked slowly forward and circled her, analyzing her the entire time. Her nondescript brown hair was now glossy black and down her back, her face looked a lot like his new one, and her eyes were the same startling grey blue that Sirius had said was a strong family trait. She still had her Mom's slender figure and delicate, slightly pointed ears as well as Glynnis' long straight nose. She still had a few freckles, but they were much less noticeable on her glowing tanned skin now.

"You do look like Dad now, and I look more like him and Glynnis too. I think you look great, but …" he paused, thinking about how he could ask her about her feelings.

"Yeah, I know…it's really strange to look so different and…I don't know…I kinda miss looking like my Dad…even though I don't remember him at all." She grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him over so that the two could sit down on Harry's unmade bed.

The two pulled the pillows down and twisted the thick duvet to make a comfortable lounging place before they began to talk again.

Harry sighed. "I like that I look like …Mum, I guess I should call her that now, since that's what she is now. But I kinda miss how I used to look. Though I think it's wicked to lose that baby face. And it's so weird to have red in my hair now." Marybeth was nodding in agreement as he spoke.

"I guess it was just the shock this morning, I mean they did tell us we would change, you know." She snuggled down into the blankets a little more, "I guess I just didn't realize it would happen overnight…or does that sound stupid?"

"No, I've known about magic a lot longer and I didn't think about it being so fast either. And I really like that we look like brother and sister now instead of total strangers. Maybe people will think we're twins like Fred and George!"

The two spent the next half hour discussing how they felt about the changes and being a new family before running down stairs to meet Uncle Remus for breakfast, anxious now to share their new looks with the beloved family friend.

* * *

The newlyweds slipped back to the Potter Manor with just a day to spare before their second Muggle wedding was planned. Remus was getting mightily irritated at the two for waiting so long to return and leaving him with the panicking Mother-in-law and Glynnis' two sisters. The trio had been calling on the telephone that Sirius had installed in a shielded small room almost hourly with questions and concerns and Remus had been mightily tempted to just tell the three that Glynnis had eloped with a circus acrobat and he didn't know anyone named Sirius any more.

"What took you two so long? You were supposed to only be gone the weekend, not a whole blasted week!" Remus' temper was starting to get the better of him, after all the full moon would be just three days after the wedding.

Glynnis turned bright red and even Sirius' cheeks showed a light dusting of pink as he laughed at his best friend. "Do you really want me to tell you all we've been doing the past week, Moony?"

Moony's eyes widened as he realized exactly what Sirius was contemplating telling him and stuttered madly, "Uh, no…that's all right, Paddy. I don't really want to know…" he continued the thought silently, 'though I can guess knowing you as well as I do.'

Identical screeches of "Mum! Dad!" echoed through the large entrance hall as the two children thudded down the grand staircase and leaped into the air, Harry heading for Sirius and Marybeth heading for Glynnis.

The two startled adults managed to catch their flying offspring only to show identical expressions of shock and amazement. Still holding the two radically changed children, they each studied the one they were holding and then looked at the other one. Sirius spoke first. "Wicked! I always wanted to have twins!"

Glynnis was a little more pragmatic. "How do we explain this to my parents and all of the other guests that know Marybeth well?"

Remus answered as Sirius was still too busy inspecting the two for discrepancies in their appearance. "We'll just cast a simple glamour charm on Marybeth for the day, it won't hurt her in the least and no one that doesn't already know about magic will be able to tell a thing."

Sirius nodded and dumped Harry down onto his feet before pulling him back into a big hug. He noticed that Harry now came up a couple of inches higher on his chest than just a short week ago. "You've grown taller, too Pup! That's fantastic; it'll help in your playing Quidditch!"

Everyone laughed at Sirius before heading down the long hall and into the dining room for lunch, each talking over the other in their excitement to tell the others about their week.

* * *

The muggle wedding went off without a hitch, well except for Harry almost losing the rings and Marybeth turning out allergic to the flowers she was carrying down the aisle. The two would take a step or two with the slow music and then Marybeth would sneeze, wipe her nose and then they would take a couple more steps and repeat it.

Harry and Marybeth had both had to hide a lot since most of her relatives thought the two were just 'so cute together' in their matching baby blue outfits and had a rather annoying habit of commenting on that cuteness while pinching their cheeks.

Dumbledore looked rather distinguished in a Muggle suit with his beard and hair neatly trimmed and shaped. He admitted to Marybeth that he was also under a glamour charm since he had no intention of actually cutting either one. McGonagall was introduced all around and took the role of Sirius' spinster aunt very well, her black dress, sensible black shoes and a stylish tartan shawl standing out in all of the pastels of the wedding party.

No one in Glynnis' family knew who exactly Severus Snape was, and with the perpetual scowl firmly planted on his face, no one came close enough to try to ask him. He had tied his long black hair back with a leather strap and somehow made his large ears less noticeable. Though in a white tux, tails, bow tie and baby blue cummerbund, who was going to pay much attention to the size of his ears? Harry though he heard the man mutter about 'at least there's no bloody leaves and blasted flowers' but he wasn't sure.

After a disappointing buffet, all the witches and wizards thought the house elves had done a much better job of catering the feast, the two left once more, this time for the entire month of July, and Remus gladly made their goodbyes before returning to the Manor with the two exhausted children barely able to stand on their own feet. He would have to leave the next morning because of the upcoming full moon and the two would be staying at the Weasleys for four days but at least the two weddings were over and none of the Muggles had suspected anything unusual about the groom and the rest of his guests.

* * *

"Harry? Is that you?" Ron asked the boy now straightening up out of the fireplace. Harry moved out of the way and held out a strong arm to stop Marybeth from flying across the room as she arrived. He smirked at his sister, thankful he had finally mastered the fine art of landing safely on his feet when floo-ing; something she still needed a lot of work on.

Fred and George looked up from the parchment the two were huddled over and took in the new look of the two children.

"All right…we're not the only…"

"TWINS anymore!" The two redheads finished in one loud voice.

"Boys, no need to shout, you two just go on upstairs and put your things away. Harry, you're with Ron again and Marybeth, you'll be staying in Ginny's room with her. The boys will show you were. Go on up now and get settled in, dinner will be in about half an hour. George and Fred go outside and help your brothers set up the table and chairs out there. It's a beautiful day so I thought we'd all eat outside."

Harry grabbed his small duffle and followed Ron up the stairs. Ron looked over his shoulder and asked, "Did you remember to bring your broom, mate? Maybe Mum'll let us fly some after dinner if it's not too dark."

"Yeah, we both brought them, but someone will have to un-shrink them. Uncle Remus shrunk them down so they would fit in our bags and not get damaged in the floo." Harry's voice trailed off as the two climbed higher and higher up the rickety staircase.

* * *

Harry and Marybeth whined and cajoled Uncle Remus into letting them stay for an extra week when he arrived after the full moon. So the next ten days were spent in a whirlwind of flying, swimming in the pond, throwing gnomes over the garden wall, and exploring the extensive woods that kept the Burrow safe from Muggle sight. They even managed to convince Molly Weasley to take them into Ottery St. Catchpole a couple of times to buy a muggle candy bar at the little grocery store there. Luna Lovegood, a witch the same age as Ginny, ran across them the first time they went to the village and was invited out to spend the lazy summer days with the rest of the bunch and gladly accepted. Harry found her rather odd, but mostly okay for a girl so he just treated her like his sister and Ginny.

Molly insisted upon quizzing all of the children over the subjects that they had learned in the wizarding day school each morning, but other than that their time was free. She and Arthur had to step in a couple times when the pranking war between the twins and the four younger children got a little out of hand, but mostly they took the odd appearance and unusual coloring of one or more of the children with calm acceptance and sometimes not even a second glance. Secretly Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were happy that Fred and George were obviously losing the war against the youngsters, maybe they wouldn't prank so much if they knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end.

The afternoon before the Black children were to return home, Molly again fed the large group outside so they wouldn't have to change out of their swimming clothes to eat. She put out a large pitcher of chilled pumpkin juice before returning to the kitchen for a platter of sandwiches and a huge basket of fresh and crispy chips. Everyone was eating ravenously; swimming all morning had given all of the children a large appetite. First Fred burped, and then hiccoughed before sprouting long yellow feathers and a bright red cockscomb and wattle. He clicked his beak several times before leaping to his feet and circling the table doing the chicken dance. His twin and Percy soon followed.

Molly had tears of laughter streaking down her flushed cheeks as she summoned a camera so she could send pictures to Bill and Charlie. Then Ginny burped, Harry hiccoughed and they joined the bizarre parade. Molly had taken several pictures before she turned to look sharply at Ron and Marybeth who were sitting on the long benches laughing themselves silly. The two high-fived each other before turning around, and watching the others as they circled the table, leaving a trail of yellow and white feathers behind their lunch temporarily forgotten in the joy of watching the success of their pranking.

* * *

Ron sat up suddenly, unsure of what had woken him up. He knew by the silence of the house and the moonlight outside his bedroom windows that it was very late or very, very early. He heard another whimpering moan and realized it was Harry in the small cot on the other side of his room. He slipped out of bed and carefully walked over to look down at his sleeping friend where the moonlight from his window shone across Harry's face.

Harry was tossing and turning, his sheets twisted and tangled around the slim boy. His body was covered with a sheen of sweat and his face was covered with blood. Ron opened his mouth to yell for his mother when Harry's eyes flew open, strangely glowing green in the darkness. His entire body seizing and convulsing, Harry let out a blood curdling scream that roused the entire household in record time.

Ron grabbed Harry by the shoulders and tried to make him lie down again, but Harry was shaking so badly that both of them were thrown to the floor just as Molly rushed through the bedroom door, her long nightgown pale in the moonlight, Arthur and the rest of the children right at his heels.

Molly took one look at the blood stained face of the convulsing boy and yelled for Arthur to fetch Poppy Pomfrey and Remus as quickly as he could. Arthur nodded though he knew his wife had already turned her attention back to Harry and pushed his way out through the others, almost flying down the stairs to the fireplace.

"Percy, come help Ron hold his shoulders down, Fred and George grab his legs. Marybeth go bring me a couple of flannels, they're in the cupboard in the bathroom. Ginny, fetch me a large bowl of cold water." Molly spit out orders to everyone and they obeyed without question.

It took all four of the boys to keep Harry from thrashing into the furniture in the cramped bedroom as Molly kept his head protected and his head tilted back so he could breathe freely. Marybeth and Ginny had slipped into a corner out of the way after bringing the flannels and water to Molly. The girls looked up as Arthur rushed into the room followed by Madame Pomfrey who was dressed in flannel pajamas and a tightly tied up bathrobe. She had a large satchel hanging from one shoulder and had her wand out and ready before she was fully into the room.

"Somnus" she incanted and Harry went limp, his forehead still oozing blood down his face. As Poppy ran a diagnostic scan, Molly cleaned the blood off of Harry's face and Arthur herded the boys to a safe distance away from the two witches. A moment later, a frantic Remus Lupin dashed into the room, his shirt untucked and the buttons only half done up.

"How is he, Poppy? What happened?" The concern was evident in the man's worried tone.

"He had some kind of seizure; I don't know why…nothing shows up wrong on my scans except a massive headache and the bleeding on his forehead."

Molly had been cleaning the blood off of Harry's face while the two discussed his health. She gasped when she swiped the last traces of red off the pale face and got a clear look at the jagged, lightening shaped cut on the right side of Harry's face, just above his eye.

"He's…he's…he's Harry….Potter!" She gasped out, stunned.

* * *

AN: I know this is short, but this was the logical stopping point and I should be typing a paper on the pros and cons of bilingual education in the public schools and studying for a Calculus test that I have on Tuesday but instead, I am writing this for you. 


	17. Chapter 17: Revealing the Truth

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

AN: Well, I left them in for now, but Glynnis will fade into the background as the children go off to Hogwarts so her inclusion becomes a moot point. As to Harry's appearance, I had always planned that his scar would reappear and both Sirius and Dumbledore had planned on Harry attending Hogwarts under his real name. The pseudonym was only to keep him safe as a young child. Also, since the description of Sirius and James Potter is somewhat similar, I assume they were related somewhere a couple of generations back, as most purebloods are. So Harry looks like James and Lily more now than just a clone of James. Because Sirius looked similar in coloring and stature to James, it's not really noticeable that Harry is now bonded by blood and magic to him. Marybeth however, now looks like a Black and could be Harry's fraternal twin even though she is six months older than he is.

From Chapter 16:

"_Somnus" she incanted and Harry went limp, his forehead still oozing blood down his face. As Poppy ran a diagnostic scan, Molly cleaned the blood off of Harry's face and Arthur herded the boys to a safe distance away from the two witches. A moment later, a frantic Remus Lupin dashed into the room, his shirt un-tucked and the buttons only half done up._

"_How is he, Poppy? What happened?" The concern was evident in the man's worried tone._

"_He had some kind of seizure; I don't know why…nothing shows up wrong on my scans except a massive headache and the bleeding on his forehead."_

_Molly had been cleaning the blood off of Harry's face while the two discussed his health. She gasped when she swiped the last traces of red off the pale face and got a clear look at the jagged, lightening shaped cut on the right side of Harry's face, just above his eye._

"_He's…he's…he's Harry….Potter!" She gasped out, stunned._

_

* * *

Chapter 17: Revealing the Truth_

The blood drained from Remus face even more than the sight of a convulsing and bleeding Harry had made it. He opened his mouth and then closed it as he decided exactly how to handle the revelation.

"I'll explain later…right now we need to find out what happened to Harry." He finally settled on.

Molly gave him a sharp and calculating look before reluctantly nodding her head and telling her husband to get the others back to bed. Arthur herded the group out and followed Percy and Ron downstairs to conjure a second bed in Percy's room for his brother to sleep in tonight.

"Can't he just sleep on the couch…I don't want him in my room." Percy's whining complaints could be heard as their footsteps led down the stairs.

"Prat!"

"Git!" Could be heard in the twin's disgusted tones, as they followed behind their older brother; though they were both smiling at hearing the normally very mellow and understanding Arthur Weasley berating his third son for being as selfish and inconsiderate as to deny his brother a place to sleep for the night.

Remus ran a shaking hand through his disheveled hair as his other hand fiddled nervously with a button on his shirt.

"How is he Poppy? Will he be all right?"

"He should be fine, I don't know exactly what caused the seizure but it doesn't look like anything that we will have to treat again. I am concerned about his forehead splitting open and making the curse scar appear once more. He will have a pounding headache in the morning but a headache potion and a big breakfast should make him right as rain." She left a couple of oddly colored potions on the nightstand and stood up, her knees creaking ominously as she straightened up.

"Just keep an eye on him the next couple of days, don't let him overdo it if he seems tired. Call me again if his headache doesn't improve or comes back. And I will be asking Albus if he has any ideas on why Harry's scar has reappeared. Good night all." She said as she went out of the door and trudged down the long and twisted staircase to return to Hogwarts.

Molly twisted her lips and folded her arms across her chest, glaring meaningfully at the now loudly gulping werewolf. She nodded her head as she came to a decision. She pulled her wand from her nightgown pocket and cast a monitoring charm that Remus recognized from the many times Lily had cast it upon a baby Harry and motioned for Remus to follow her.

His footsteps dragging, his shoulders slumped in resignation about the confrontation he was dreading; Remus trudged down the stairs following in Molly's wake. Arthur was waiting for the duo on the last landing before the living room and he waited for his wife to pass before putting a comforting arm around Remus' shoulders.

He leaned over and whispered in the other man's ear. "The trick is to not let her get totally wound up. I'll see if I can deflect some of her ire off of you and onto Sirius since he's not here. She should calm down a lot before he returns so it should be all right." Arthur whispered conspiratorially and then let go and let Remus lead him down into the kitchen where Molly was putting out things for tea.

The two men sat down at the table and waited for the still steaming woman to begin.

"Why didn't you tell us, Remus? All these years and not one word…not one clue…did you not trust us?" Her volume was increasing as she got more irate with every word.

"Not one hint…and as close as I thought we were…" Arthur reached over and put his hands over his wife's shaking hands, her teacup was rattling as she ranted.

"Now, Molly dear, I don't suppose they could tell anyone about the boy. Surely you can see it was the safest way to keep him safe and…well, think about how the children would have treated him all these years if they had known."

Molly took a deep breath and blew it out her pursed lips. "All right, I can see why you wouldn't want the children to know; after all we've had enough problems with Ginny and her hero worship of the 'boy-who-lived' over the years. But that doesn't excuse them not telling us."

"I'm truly sorry Molly," Remus' tone was placating and understanding, "but we had intended to let you know before the end of summer. It was always the plan to have Harry attend school as Harry Potter. But we wanted him to have friends that he was certain liked him and not just because of who he was. There was no way he would have been allowed a normal childhood if the secret had gotten out you know. I'm sure Sirius had it all planned out on when to tell you and how…" his voice trailed off as he noticed that Molly was cooling down and seemed almost resigned to the necessity of keeping Harry's true identity secret.

The three adults sat for several hours discussing how it would be best to tell the rest of the Weasley's that their good friend Harry Grimm was really Harry Potter and, in particular, how to keep Ginny from turning into an insane fan girl stalker.

* * *

Harry was still sleeping the next morning when the quiet breakfast was interrupted by a green flash of the floo before Albus Dumbledore stepped out, his flaming yellow robes making the kitchen seem to glow with sunlight. The trio had explained why Harry had been hiding to the assorted group as they ate, and Marybeth had gotten a much edited and abbreviated explanation of who her brother was, how he had lost his parents and what was going on in the political world of magic.

"Good morning to everyone, Weasley family. And hello to you, Marybeth and Remus as well, I hope you all slept well. Poppy explained to me what happened last night and requested that I come and talk to the boy about what exactly happened last night. I will admit, I am rather curious as to his explanation as I am a bit puzzled myself."

He gratefully accepted the steaming cup of tea that Molly held out to him as he sat at an empty chair and joined in the discussion.

"It was necessary to keep Harry's identity secret, especially while he was recovering from the grievous injuries his cousin inflicted upon him. If anyone had found him while he was helpless, they could have kidnapped or killed him easily." He gave Remus a look of understanding, "Yes I know that both you and Sirius would have protected him with your very lives if necessary, but it was better not to chance it, I'm sure you all agree." He took a sip while the group thought about what he had said.

Ron wrinkled his nose up in confusion, "What did his relatives do to him?"

The adults all peered over the heads of the children before Molly sighed in resignation and nodded at Dumbledore to explain. She muttered, "Its common knowledge so there's no use trying to hide it."

Dumbledore sat his empty teacup down on the scarred table and sighed deeply. The normal twinkle in his eyes faded and his expression became serious and grave. "When Harry's parents were killed, I made a decision to place the baby Harry with his muggle aunt and uncle, using blood wards fueled by Lily Potter's sacrifice to bind them to her living relatives. I thought that since they had a boy just about Harry's age and Petunia Dursley was Lily's sister that they would love the boy and be happy to raise him. I was dreadfully wrong." He folded his hands and looked down in abject remorse before raising his head and looking around the table, meeting every pair of eyes individually.

"I couldn't have been more wrong. It might have been kinder to Harry to simply hand him over to the remaining Death Eaters." He sighed deeply before continuing to speak softly in the absolutely still kitchen. "They locked him up and literally starved him while heaping verbal abuse upon him at every opportunity, until a large black dog appeared one day just in time to save their son Dudley from being run over by an out of control automobile. No one knew it was Sirius in his animagus form and from that day on he protected Harry as best he could. He didn't know that he was eventually cleared, there was no contact with the wizarding world and so no news reached the family."

He nodded gratefully at Molly when she lifted the tea kettle up in silent invitation to refill his empty cup. He stirred his tea absently before taking a small sip and continuing the tale.

"It wasn't particularly pleasant for the young Harry, but the dog Paddy made sure that the boy was treated better and he transformed every night into Sirius and taught Harry about magic and reading and writing and gave him the loving care that his relatives seemed unable or unwilling to provide. It remained like that until the two boys started school. Dudley Dursley was apparently jealous of his cousin being so smart and getting more attention at school…so one afternoon he pushed Harry backward down a flight of concrete stairs."

Albus took another sip of tea and continued. "If not for Arabella Figg seeing a story about the 'accident' and then Sirius deciding that his freedom wasn't worth having Harry die, we would never have known to go and find Harry at the Muggle hospital. Poppy was able to stabilize him and we were eventually able to bring him back to Hogwarts so that he could be healed. But it took a very long time for Harry to become whole once more. His cousin came very close to killing him that day and if he had been left to Muggle care he would have died or never walked again."

There was a shocked silence all around the table until Percy piped up. "What happened to them…where are they now?"

Remus looked over, curiosity in his face as he also wondered what had become of the loathsome creatures.

A small smile of satisfaction appeared on the old Headmaster's face as the twinkle returned to his eyes. "Ah, his Uncle Vernon is still in prison, his aunt has four more years and if she doesn't stop trying to tell everyone about how unnatural and freakish her nephew is, she will probably end up in a mental hospital. Dudley has actually turned out better than if he had remained with his parents. He is still in a long term care facility, but he has finally grasped that other people are human and should be treated with respect and common courtesy. It is planned that next year he will be going to a well run group home and attend a regular school. He still needs occasional help with his anger, but he is no longer severely overweight and definitely not spoiled beyond redemption as he once was."

Remus looked pleased with the report but he still had one question. "And where is the loathsome Aunt Marge? As I recall she wasn't charged since she just watched and encouraged the abuse most of the time."

"Ah, the lovely Ms. Dursley," Albus' eye twinkled as he answered Remus. "She wound up having to sell her brother's house to pay legal fees, and then the knowledge of what her brother did forced her to move, since her neighbors were rather unhappy with her staunch support of Vernon's actions and took exception to her frequent comments that the 'little freak deserved everything he got'. She died three years ago when she was driving while drunk. Luckily no one else was hurt as she just missed a curve and slammed into a tree. I do believe that is what the Dursleys claimed is what killed Lily and James to Harry."

Remus leaned back his head as he laughed, full and long. "The gods must believe in poetic justice after all." He finally managed to speak before snorting loudly in laughter once more.

* * *

Harry opened one bleary eye and then shut it immediately. 'Too much orange for any one spot in the world' he thought as he recognized the lurid colors of Ron's favorite Quidditch team, the Chuddley Cannons. He ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth, tasting the residue of several nasty potions in his mouth. He forced one eye open again and startled to find a twinkling pair of blue eyes staring back at him from only inches away. A blurry hand held his glasses out toward him and he accepted them gratefully.

"Headmaster?" Harry croaked out, his throat parched and his chest muscles oddly sore.

The old man lent over and held a glass of cold water in front of Harry's lips, trickling it into the eagerly open mouth.

"Thank you, sir. Why are you here and where is everyone? What happened?" Harry said puzzled.

"I am here to see if you can tell me what happened last night to you before you became ill. Your friend Ron tells me you screamed in your sleep and he came over to wake you up. He found you tangled up in your bedding, your body convulsing and your forehead split open and bleeding down your face. Mrs. Weasley sent for Madame Pomfrey and she fed you several potions," he smiled at the grimace of distaste on the boy's face, "and cast sleeping spells upon you. But she could find no medical reason for your seizure. Can you tell me about your dream last night?"

Harry's eyes widened in shock and distress as the memory of last night replayed in his head. He shivered involuntarily at the remembered horror and pain.

He gulped and fingered the blanket on his chest nervously as he met the blue eyes of the old man. "I was sleeping…and then it was like I was awake but I wasn't really. I don't know…but I could see this man. He was talking to this…thing…sort of like the ghosts at Hogwarts but not really. I mean I like the ghosts, well, not the Bloody Baron and Peeves, but this … thing," He shrugged his shoulders as another shiver made him tremble. Dumbledore left his chair and sat on the bed beside the child, taking his hands into his own as he encouraged him and comforted him at the same time.

"Take your time, Harry; but might be very important. I need to know everything you can remember about your dream."

Harry looked down at the clasped hands and swallowed before looking up again. "I can't explain about it. I don't know how to tell you…" his voice had gotten very quiet as he spoke.

Remus spoke up from the corner where he had been sitting unnoticed by his cub. "Harry, remember when your Dad and I showed you memories of your parents in a pensieve? Do you think you could show us about your dream that way?"

Harry's head had spun quickly around when Remus first spoke and nodded eagerly. "Could I, Uncle Remus?"

Dumbledore lifted one gnarled hand and patted the two small hands he still held in his other hand. "Of course you can. Brilliant idea, Remus. I will leave the two of you to get ready and return to my office to prepare my pensieve. I will expect you in about an hour? And then you can join me for lunch in the Great Hall before we view Harry's dream."

When Remus nodded and Harry moved to climb out of bed, Dumbledore stood up and left the room, leaving Remus to help Harry get cleaned up and dressed.

* * *

After a peaceful and delicious lunch, the three had returned to the circular tower office where Harry was sitting looking rather apprehensive at the two wizards. Fawkes trilled softly and flew to sit upon Harry's lap, nudging the boy's hands to encourage him to pet the Phoenix. The tension seemed to drain out of the small shoulders as he gently stroked the golden feathers while Fawkes made soft noises of pleasure and contentment.

Albus turned around, his pensieve now empty of his own memories and ready to receive the boy's disturbing dream. He chuckled at the sight of his thoroughly besotted familiar filling up the small lap, a look of utmost pleasure on the bird's face as Harry's small fingers preened through the feathers and down to the itchy skin below. He nudged Remus and whispered softly, "I might worry about losing my familiar, but I suspect that as Harry grows his fingers will become too large to reach comfortably between Fawkes feathers just as mine are."

Remus laughed softly, enjoying the utter peace and happiness upon the boy's face. "Are you sure about that, Albus? I think sometimes that Fawkes thinks that you are his familiar, and not the other way around."

With a rueful smile, Albus agreed with Remus' assessment and spoke softly to the pair sitting in such contentment.

"Harry, if you are ready, we will begin." Fawkes looked at Dumbledore and gave the bird equivalent of a dirty look before spreading his large wings and disappearing in a flash of gold and crimson flames.

Harry laughed at the disgruntled expression on the Headmaster's face and stood up, holding a golden feather in his hand, his face showing pure radiant joy at the present from the Phoenix.

"Look, Fawkes gave me a feather! Wow, it's kind of warm and feels like getting a hug when you're scared…" the two men chuckled at the boy and Remus walked over and led Harry back to stand beside the large pensieve, an arm protectively curled around the slim shoulders.

Albus leaned down, his hands braced upon his knees to keep his balance. "Now Harry, I want you to think about your dream last night. Try not to think of anything else, just your dream from last night. When you are ready, just nod, and don't say anything and I will extract your memory. I know you have watched both your Dad and Uncle Remus do this. It doesn't hurt, just a funny pulling feeling, about like when you feel the floss between your teeth, odd but not painful in anyway."

Harry nodded and then closed his eyes, his face scrunching up as he concentrated so hard it felt like his eyes might cross. After a few minutes he opened his eyes and nodded once.

Dumbledore put his wand tight to Harry's temple and muttered an incantation so softly that Harry didn't hear it. As Dumbledore pulled the wand away from the small black haired head, a long silver worm like strand came with it. The old wizard kept pulling and pulling until a very long and thick wriggling wisp finally detached and squiggled madly in the air. He deftly flicked his wrist, separating the strand with a well practiced motion to land into the clear liquid filling his large stone pensieve where it disappeared almost instantly, swirling and twirling in a miniature whirlpool until it was completely gone from sight.

Remus took one of Harry's hands while Dumbledore took the other. The three leaned forward until their noses barely touched the thick translucent liquid. With a pulling sensation and a feeling of being compressed the three were sucked into the waiting memory.

* * *

AN: I know I am very bad but I wanted to post this and it was a logical stopping point. I know there wasn't a lot of action in this chapter, but it happens sometimes. I am working on chapters for the other two stories also, so expect updates on Nightmares and Daydreams and Curse of the Six Virgins soon also. BTW I did finish my paper and I did pass my math test. Thanks to everyone who took the time to review, it really does keep me writing. 


	18. Chapter 18: The Vision

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

AN: I need to explain a little about the long time for an update on all of my stories. I thought last spring was horrible but it was nothing compared to this one. My oldest daughter died on the 13th, we had to fly back to Washington State to take care of everything and then I flew home to the last week of classes before finals. I am now done with school and frankly, looking for something to keep me occupied until next semester, so I might as well write stories. Thank you for your support and understanding. I am also kind of interested in meeting a few like minded people to email to so if you are interested, drop me a review and I will try to answer it. Teacherbev

Chapter 18: The Vision

Harry clung to Remus' waist, Fawkes' feather clutched tightly in one hand as the three fell into Harry's nightmare of the night before. Albus looked around, leaving Remus to reassure Harry that the events in the pensieve could not hurt him and that no one could see them or hear them.

They appeared to be in a dark and dank cave somewhere. Dripping stalactites dotted the ceiling, making random plopping sounds as the moisture collected and then dripped down into small dark pools of stagnant water. Most of the largest stalagmites had been broken off and smoothed, forming odd little clusters of rock stools and tables on which mismatched and battered pottery sat, ready for their occupant to use. The whole cave smelled musty and somehow evil, in an indefinable and very unsettling way. Two voices could be heard coming closer; a high pitched, eerie voice was overriding the whining pleas of a somehow familiar nasal twang.

"Please Master, there must be another way." The first voice was cajoling and pleading.

A harsh inhumanly high pitched wheezing laugh greeted this sentiment.

"I grow weary of the small animals and inadequate muggles I have been using. I wish to keep a closer eye upon you and Hogwarts, and this is the only way that I may accompany you this year. You will make a worthy host. Now, I grow tired of your constant complaints." The inhuman voice then whispered, "_Imperio_" and the first voice stopped speaking suddenly, almost as if a knob had been turned off on the wireless.

The two figures were now visible, a shadowy unnaturally tall form that seemed to fade in and out of focus that seemed to be made up of churning deep black smoke, somehow oily and radiating evil, was leading a slack jawed and vacant eyed young wizard into the dank chamber where the three were waiting to view the memory.

The second man was an average height, but his deathly pale skin and long hands and fingers made him appear taller. He had a pointed chin and already thinning dirty blonde hair that lay lank and lifeless in the damp environment of the cave. His pale blue eyes were staring and lifeless, unblinking as if in a deep trance or asleep with his eyelids open. He moved awkwardly, his limbs jerking like a marionette without strings to perch on the nearest broken off stalagmite.

The smoke that made up the second figure swirled until the ebb and flow made the shape almost amorphous as a solid chant of ancient Sumerian filled the small space, echoing off of the cavern walls; making individual words unintelligible in the repeated echoes of the huge underground chambers. The smoke thinned and stretched until it seemed to touch the vacant eyed wizard right between his glassy eyes. He didn't even flinch when the smoke began to flow unnaturally in through his forehead. An odd bump grew rapidly on the back of the man's head and pushed out, oddly shaped and horrific in appearance. It took several long minutes, but finally a barely recognizable face protruded out of the back of the man's head, his lanky dirty blonde hair falling off from all over his head and landing on his shoulders and down his back to the floor like leaves falling off a tree in a harsh autumn wind.

Harry had his head buried deeply in Remus' chest as the werewolf knelt beside his cub, shielding him from his own memory like a mother bear and her cub. Albus was walking around the image, his chin held firmly in one hand as he viewed the ghastly visage of the possessed wizard.

"Do you know who it is, Albus?" Remus asked quietly, unwilling to speak normally even though he knew the shades they viewed would not hear him even if he screamed, which it looked like he wanted to do.

"I am afraid that young Quirinus Quirrel has allowed the specter of Voldemort to possess him. I had wondered at the sudden change in Quirrel's demeanor when he returned from his year's sabbatical. I have known him since he was a student here at Hogwarts and while he was studious and quiet to be sure; he never studied the dark arts or exhibited the extreme fear that has manifested itself over the two weeks since he returned from Albania. He sighed, "But alas, this does explain it. It appears he has been assisting Voldemort for the last few years, and now Voldemort has tired of possessing small animals and muggles, and has taken full possession of my Defense against the Dark Arts Professor."

Remus scooped the quivering boy up and stood tall, looking with fear and disgust between the Headmaster and the possessed Professor.

"What are you going to do about him?" His voice almost cracked; his distress plainly audible.

"I do not know, child, I do not know." The ancient wizard shook his head in sorrow and grabbed hold of Remus' upper arm, holding his other arm around Harry's back as he focused on leaving the horrendous memory behind.

* * *

As soon as the trio had left the pensieve memory, the two wizards had settled Harry comfortably into a bed in the infirmary with a dreamless sleep potion and a promise from Poppy Pomfrey to keep a close eye on the distraught child. As they climbed the long elegant staircases, Albus spoke softly to Remus.

"I trust you have some way to let Sirius know what is happening." It wasn't really a question, more a statement of fact.

"Certainly, we have the pair of two way mirrors that Sirius and James used to use to talk together when they were separated. Sirius used to say it was the only way he could stay sane at his parent's house until he left and moved in with the Potter's when he was sixteen. I have one and Sirius has the other. He and I check in at six each evening to make sure everything is going fine. I can try to call him earlier, but I have no way of knowing if he has the mirror on him or even within earshot. But I will try if you think I should…" his voice trailed off as he turned to look at the aged headmaster.

"No, no…this evening will be soon enough, it's only a couple of hours after all. I don't believe that anything will happen between then and now. We will have some time then to decide what we need to tell Sirius and whether or not he needs to return sooner than planned. I really don't think much can be done until Quirrel returns to the castle for the beginning of term the last week in August. He dropped off his lesson plans two weeks ago and then left again, ostensibly to visit his relatives in Gloucester, but of course, I doubt he actually turned up there after having witnessed this travesty. I certainly didn't recognize where they are and none of my intelligence even hints at the specter of Voldemort being anywhere within the British Isles at this time, so I assume that Quirrel has left the country once more. With your permission, I would like to show the memory to Severus and Minerva as well as a few others so that they might know what we are facing with Quirrel this fall."

Remus nodded in acceptance as he verbally agreed. "Of course, I would like to tell Molly and Arthur as well, since their children are Harry and Marybeth's friends, if Voldemort tries to attack Harry this year they will most likely be close by if not directly involved. I don't think the children should be told, except perhaps to warn Harry not to be alone with anyone he doesn't know well and to come tell someone immediately if something or someone doesn't seem right to him."

"Yes, I agree that the Weasleys should be warned. Hmm, perhaps I should get Cornelius here to view this as well…he could authorize the hiring and training of more Aurors if he is warned ahead of time about what might be happening in the future. Yes, I think I will do that. Well, Remus if there is nothing else, perhaps you could return in the morning to help me explain Harry's vision to the others. I will send word if it takes me longer than that to gather the necessary people together."

"Of course, Headmaster. I think I will return to the hospital wing and keep an eye on Harry until then if you don't need anything else. And I will be trying to come up with a way of telling Sirius. Perhaps it would be best if he and Glynnis returned as it's only a week earlier than planned." Remus turned and trudged down the stairs, heading to his cub in the hospital wing, hoping Dumbledore would be able to come up with a workable plan to keep his cub and the rest of the wizarding world safe.

Arthur chivvied his wife toward the floo, anxious to not be late to the meeting that Dumbledore had called about Harry's vision of two nights before. He had one long arm around his much shorter wife's shoulders, hushing her and shepherding her at the same time as he cajoled reassuringly.

"Come on, Molly, the twins will be safe for a couple of hours with just Percy watching them. We hid the floo powder, confiscated all the dung bombs and the itching powder, we have threatened the twins with grievous bodily harm if they so much as step a toe out of line and sent Ron and Ginny over to the Lovegoods for the day. Percy will be able to handle the twins for just a couple of hours, I'm sure." He didn't look nearly as sure of that fact even as he was trying to prove his unwavering trust in his third oldest son. 'Hmm' he thought, 'perhaps we should have brought the twins with us and left them with Mr. Filch…' he shook his head as he continued to silently contemplate his twin hellions. 'No, even they don't deserve that!'

With a last deep breath and an involuntary shudder of terror at leaving the Burrow in the hands of Percy with Fred and George on the loose, he tossed down a pinch of floo powder and followed Molly to Dumbledore's office.

Arthur stood up, absentmindedly brushing his hands down his robes to brush off any soot he might have picked up in his travels. He glanced around the room and froze in silence, his mouth clamped shut to keep his jaw from dropping open in shock.

The room had been expanded and was filled with a plethora of mismatched chairs. And every chair but two were filled with an important personage of the wizarding world, every pair of eyes glued to his blushing face as he realized they were indeed the last to arrive and everyone had been waiting for Molly and him.

Dumbledore stood from his desk and walked around to the front, waving a hand in greeting to everyone. "I think I shall do a quick introduction of everyone for those of you who might not know each other. Starting here on the far right we have The Fierce One, Ragnok, Head of Gringotts and a High Councilor of the Goblin nation. Next to him is Bane, chieftain of the Centaur clan that resides in the Forbidden Forest. Madame Bones, the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Branch. Next to her, I think everyone recognizes Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic," he waited while the pompous little man half stood and made a short bow as if acknowledging non-existent applause, "then Remus Lupin, who is currently acting as Mr. Harry Potter's guardian while his father is out of the country. Then we have Mr. Harry Potter himself, Professor Minerva McGonagall, my Deputy, followed by Professor Severus Snape, who most of you know is an expert on the death eaters." Snape snarled as several people muttered under their breaths at his inclusion in the group.

Dumbledore merely smiled, his eyes twinkling as he continued around the huge circle. "Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Weasley, whose children are best friends with Mr. Potter and thereby likely to be included or nearby if an attack should occur. And then we have retired Head Auror Alastor Moody and current Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. Finally, we have Professors Flitwick, Vector and Lingua who are here to add any knowledge of the specific spells used. And Madame Pomfrey is here to give us a reading on the…physical stability of the body as it were." Dumbledore finished and there were impatient grumbles and nods as everyone wanted the introductions over so that they could finally get to the real reason that Dumbledore had insisted that they all be there that morning.

"Mr. Potter had a vision two nights ago. His friend, Ronald awoke to find Harry in convulsions and screaming as his curse scar split open and bled profusely. Yesterday afternoon, I was able to help Harry retrieve his memory of this vision and safely placed it into my pensieve. After viewing this disturbing spectacle, I thought it wise to bring you together so that you could view it first hand, and we could make plans accordingly. If you would all stand together and make sure to be touching the being beside you, we all shall enter together."

By standing back to front and squeezing together, they were able to crowd around the massive stone pensieve and each placed a finger into the swirling silver liquid. With a massive whooshing sound, the entire group was sucking into Harry's frightening memory of the horrific events from two nights before.

It took only moments before the group returned to Dumbledores office, each face much paler and more disturbed than when they had left. Snape's shoulders shook with revulsion at the rebirth of his 'master' while Fudge and several of the women looked decidedly green.

Fudge sank bonelessly into the chair behind him, sinking his face into his hands as he moaned wordlessly, terror and abject hopelessness plain upon his face before it disappeared into his shaking hands. Poppy pulled a handful of vials out of her apron pocket and went among the group handing out calming draughts to those who might need them.

Madame Bones had grabbed Snape by the shoulder and herded him over to Moody and Shacklebolt where she was madly making suggestions and questioning the trio about what they could do to fight the menace before he could become any stronger. Remus and Arthur were trying to pull a sobbing Molly off of Harry, after she had grabbed the poor boy in a chokehold, and was currently suffocating the child in her attempt to shield him from harm's way.

Ragnok and Bane had cornered Dumbledore and were demanding to know what the wizard planned to do to keep their citizens safe from the evil and insane butcher, while the four Professors were excitedly discussing the various spells the most evil wizard of the last half century had used to insert his consciousness into full physical possession of the weak minded Quirrel. Vector was certain it was an ancient Sumerian curse, while McGonagall and Lingua were equally sure he had merely modified two old curses and used them together. Flitwick was holding out for a modification of the Imperious curse with a few other smaller charms added in. Their intellectual debate became quite heated rather rapidly, until the four were shouting to be heard over the others.

Dumbledore pointed his long wand at the ceiling and shot off a loud noisemaker charm that echoed around the circular office, making everyone freeze in sudden silence. Remus was sitting down with a red faced and sobbing Harry on his lap, while Arthur had Molly's chair pulled close enough for her to be sobbing into his very damp shoulder, but everyone else turned to glare at the Headmaster.

"Come everyone, sit down please and let us discuss this rationally. We all have concerns and fears about the return of Voldemort," there were several shudders as he said the name, "and we need to formulate some kind of a plan before we adjourn today."

Everyone reluctantly returned to the seat they had before they all entered the pensieve while Dumbledore laid out parchment and a dictating quill onto his desk to take notes for the meeting.

"I think we should begin with Severus. What was your opinion of the ceremony we just witnessed?"

Snape's lip turned up into a small sneer as he looked around at the assembled group. His voice was soft but it insinuated itself into every corner of the room with his silky baritone, his normal sarcasm completely absent for once. "I recognized some of what was said in the spell, and it is indeed one that the Dark Lord was researching before his…demise. Also I feel it to be essential that Mr. Potter begin Occlumency lessons immediately. Should the Dark Lord ever find out he can cause that violent a reaction to the boy or that the boy can see what he is doing, he would stop at nothing to destroy the boy's mind, from the inside out if necessary."

Dumbledore nodded, while Remus pulled the now dozing child closer to his chest in an unconscious protective motion, thankful that Poppy's calming potion had worked so well on the boy. Snape continued, "It is vital that all of the death eaters that were…let go…at the end of the last war be rounded up and given Veritaserum. I do not believe that any of them were under the Imperious curse. The nature of the Dark Mark is such that it cannot be applied to an unwilling subject; hence the Ministry's inability to place spies within the organization." Fudge shuddered at the political implications of the former spy's statement. Some of those so called 'innocent' victims were among the Ministers staunchest financial and political supporters.

Madame Bones broke in, "Cornelius, would you rather have the public see you as cleaning up your predecessors mess or would you rather be viewed as someone whose inactions allowed that monster to return? Face it, you've been skating on Crouch's mistakes and letting the scum you know were guilty fill your political coffers. For once in your life, be a man and take a stand!"

There were several soft murmurs of agreement within the room, but no one could say for sure exactly who had said it.

* * *

It had taken most of the day and several tables of refreshments supplied by the house elves, but by late afternoon, some consensus had been reached. Since no one had any idea where the cave was located and no one had any viable suggestions about how to go about finding it in the few weeks they had until Quirrel would return for the start of term, it was decided to wait to confront the evil wizard until the last week in August. No one wanted to wait until the new term had started; it would be much safer to ambush the possessed Defense against the Dark Arts professor while the castle was mostly empty.

Fudge had reluctantly agreed to allow Remus Lupin to become the DADA Professor, only stipulating that Professor Snape must supply the new Wolfsbane potion each full moon and that the werewolf must be locked into his quarters with no access to his wand from sundown to sunup on his 'affected' days. The rest of the group had similar concerns but everyone agreed that a werewolf on the Wolfsbane potion was better than a Professor possessed by Voldemort himself, and there was no way to hire someone else with so little time before the beginning of term and still keep the knowledge that they were aware of Quirrels possession from reaching the wrong ears.

"I would be happy to supply an Auror or two each month to substitute for days when Mr. Lupin is ill," Madame Bones had been adamant when asked, "but I cannot supply one full time if Voldemort is on the rise once more. Every one I have will be needed to either take patrol or train up the new recruits."

Fudge had still looked slightly queasy at the thought of a werewolf in the castle with all of the children, just what would happen to his approval ratings if the parents ever found out…but he really had no other choice and reluctantly conceded the fact to the others.

Flitwick and the other Professors would be researching to come up with a way of containing a soul so that Voldemort could not simply abandon Quirrel and simply possess some other witch or wizard and regain power that way. Since he was not technically a ghost, a simple banishment ritual would not work. They agreed it would need to be a magical exorcism of some kind, but they would need to trap the soul long enough to banish it and they weren't certain that simply binding Quirrel would keep Voldemort's soul within the host long enough to complete the necessary ritual.

Dumbledore made a mental note to have Nicholas Flamel retrieve his Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts himself; it would not be a good idea to hide the thing at Hogwarts as he had agreed to before viewing Harry's pensieve memory. Flamel would have to understand or Dumbledore would destroy the thing himself to keep it out of evil hands. The thought of an immortal Voldemort was enough to give even the most powerful Light Wizard in the last century nightmares.

Ragnok had reluctantly agreed to freeze the assets of the 'innocent' Death Eaters from the last war and monitor their other vaults to see if there was anyone else suspicious. He was a hard bargainer though and forced quite a few favorable concessions from disgruntled Minister Fudge before agreeing. He kept his face emotionless as he contemplated the celebration that would be taking place tonight deep underground and hidden from any prying wizard eyes. 'Yes it was a great day for the Goblin nation, and his name would go down with the Revered Ones for his part in today's negotiations.'

Bane was not so subtle in showing his outright glee at the concessions he had demanded for the Centaur nation's assistance in patrolling the Forbidden Forest. He chuckled rather gleefully when Fudge had to agree to expanding their sovereign territory and removing some of the more heinous restrictions on non-wizard magical beings. And forcing the hag that he had promoted to his Undersecretary was just mushrooms in the grass for his people. Umbridge and her vendetta against magical beings had been a sticker in the hoof for the Centaur nation for a long time and he would be remembered as the Leader who had removed that thorn.

Arthur and Molly, as well as Remus and Harry, had left soon after the group had left the Pensieve. They were certain that Albus would keep them informed of any decisions or actions that directly affected them and they wanted to return to the Burrow as soon as possible. Remus took Harry back with him to Potter Manor to await the immanent return of Sirius and Glynnis, who would be returning from the cruise as soon as they could get a long distance emergency portkey authorized. Marybeth and the house elves were already decorating and planning an exorbitant meal for the newlyweds and to take Harry's mind off of his disturbing vision.

* * *

Not a single minute passed between the entrance of Molly and Arthur through the floo connection, and the sound of a 'Mum on a Rampage' as the Weasley children called their mom fondly…well, as long as the rampage wasn't directly aimed at them that is.

Percy was bound and strapped to a chair in the kitchen, some strange silver tape across his mouth making him red faced and puffy cheeked as he tried to yell at the twins and explain to his shocked parents exactly what had occurred. His hair was standing straight up in two inch tall spikes, each spike a different, but glaring neon color. His slacks were covered in mud and the rest of him was dripping wet, while several strands of long pond algae and frog spawn let his parents know he had been 'swimming' in the pond fully clothed at some point that morning. Arthur gingerly tried to remove the sticky silver tape as gently as he could while Molly, red faced and stomping, wound up into full rant mode.

"**George, Fred if you aren't down here in front of me by the time I count to ten you won't be sitting down for a week!"** She was so shrill and loud that the ghoul in the attic took cover in an old school trunk, shaking so hard the old leather case was rattling on the wood floor.

A thunder of footsteps could be heard running down the twisted staircase only to stop abruptly right outside the kitchen door. Two identical heads poked around the doorframe, sheepish grins and a small look of hope on both faces. That look died when they noticed their Mum, her hands on her hips, her face so red it was shining brighter than their own carrot colored hair. With shoulders slumped in resignation, the two slunk into the kitchen and took the two chairs across the oversized wooden table from their mom. But the hope of protection afforded by the table vanished as the women simply stalked around the obstacle and leaned down, her mouth just inches in front of their noses.

"**Just what is going on here? We leave you two alone…not even two hours…and this is the thanks we get for trusting you? Well…I'm waiting…"** She tapped one shoe sharply on the kitchen floor, the sound echoing in the silent house as the two miscreants tried in vain to come up with an excuse that was even mildly believable.

"ah..well…you see…" one began.

"Well, Percy was being a git…"

"Yeah, that's right…bossing us around,"

"And telling us to clean our room…and…well"

"Wekindofthrewhiminthepond" they both said it so fast it sounded like a single word said in stereo.

If it was possible, Molly got even angrier. "You threw your brother in the pond…fully clothed…because he told you to clean your room…is that right?"

Neither boy now thought it was quite such a good idea as when they had thought of it before.

"Well, yeah but he was yelling and being a ponce…"

Molly leaned in even closer, her chin now almost touching one twin's nose. "Did I, or did I not tell you to clean your room this morning or there would be no flying this afternoon?" Uh oh, Mom had gone soft spoken, that was even worse than when she was yelling.

The white faced boys nodded together, wisely remaining quiet. "Well, get up there and clean your room…NOW!" They both shot from their chairs and hit the doorway at the same moment, shouldering each other and pushing to be the first out of the room. "And there will be no flying for a week…and you can de-gnome the garden for Percy for the next month!" A couple of soft "Yes Mums" floated down the stairs as the two finally disappeared from hearing range.

Arthur had removed the hex from Percy's hair and managed to untie him without hurting him any more, though he had bits of adhesive still sticking around his red and raw looking mouth.

Molly turned to her third son and just raised an eyebrow. She knew he liked to flaunt authority over the younger children and never missed an opportunity to lord it over the twins especially, no matter how many times she or his father had tried to break the habit.

Percy sank down into his chair, his expression of righteous indignation now replaced with chagrin. "I'm sorry, Mum. I know you told me not to tell them what to do, but…" his voice trailed off as he shut up.

"Percy, I know you mean well, at least I think you do, but trying to force everyone to follow your rules and listen to everything you have to say will not win you any friends or make your brothers and sister listen to you any better. I told the twins to clean their room and they knew it. You were only here to supervise. They would have had consequences for not obeying me when we returned; you didn't need to try to be the boss at all."

"I know Mum, but sometimes I just want to…I don't know…" he was flustered at not being able to articulate his inner and driving need to be the one in charge to his parents.

"Well, no one likes to be bossed around; you know you yourself hate it…why do you think your siblings like it any better than you do? What would you do if Ginny or Ron told you to go clean your room?"

Percy looked slightly ashamed, his Mum was right and he knew it but he just couldn't help himself sometimes.

Arthur sighed heavily as he dismissed the boy up to his own room. Percy of course would not need to clean his room, he had alphabetized his bookshelf from the time he learned to recite the alphabet and even his socks would be identically folded and lined up neatly in the proper drawer. He and Molly shared a look as if trying to decide exactly where the obsessive compulsive child in their brood came from.

* * *

With a whirl of light and sound, Sirius and Glynnis appeared just past the wards of Potter Manor just in time for tea later that afternoon. They both had a satchel over one shoulder, full to the brim with souvenirs as well as all of the shrunken belongings they had taken for their trip. With shrill shouts of joy, Marybeth and Harry ran across the manicured lawns and into the outstretched and welcoming arms. They were both excitedly trying to tell the story of their adventures but neither one was stopping to breathe or listen to what the other was saying so it just made a cacophony of excited gibberish to the three laughing adults.

Swinging Harry up and over his head, Sirius held tight to a leg on each side of his chest and made a galloping dash towards the manor while Moony did the same to a delightedly squealing Marybeth.

Hot biscuits and fresh petit fours with copious amounts of fragrant tea had been consumed as tales were told on both sides and squeals of excitement greeted each present the two had brought back with them. But the mood grew somber as Remus and a hesitant Harry told the story of his horrific vision. He lifted his long straight fringe and showed the two his now freshly scabbed over and clearly visible scar, an involuntary shudder shaking his shoulders as he recounted his terror and the pain that he had experienced.

After a quiet evening with lots of hugs and reassurances, the two children finally headed up the long staircase to bed while the adults settled into a long, sleepless night of planning.

* * *

AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have about half a chapter done on both Nightmares and Daydreams and The Curse of the Six Virgins so they should be up soon, too. Thank you to everyone who reads this and an especially big thank you to anyone who takes the time and makes the effort to send a review. 


	19. Chapter 19: Come Out, Come Out, Little R

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

AN: I apologize profusely for the long update time but life has been very hectic and my muse went dormant, or maybe it hibernated from the heat, I don't know. I also reposted this story with the absence of Glynnis and Marybeth since I just kept getting the urge to kill them off. I hope you forgive me and I hope to get back to regular updating soon. Remember that I appreciate each and every one of you, especially those who take the time to leave a review.

Chapter 19: Come Out, Come Out, Little Rat!

Things had almost returned to normal by the next week. Sirius and Remus had been very busy with the preparations for confronting Quirrel but Glynnis had managed to keep a fairly tight reign on both Harry and Marybeth, though it was quite a chore at times as the two exuberant children wanted to be in on every step of the preparations and hated it when they were shuffled to the side like children.

"I'm not a baby and since the tosser wants to kill me and did kill my Mum and Dad I think I should…" Harry didn't have time to complete his whining complaint to Sirius and Remus; they had heard the argument multiple times over the last couple of days and were completely sick of hearing it.

"No, Harry and that's final! And if you bring it up again, I'll ground you until the Hogwarts Express leaves the platform." Sirius' eyes were bright and his lips were white with his suppressed annoyance at Harry's whining. Harry was usually a very mature eleven year old, his early life had taught him not to complain and he was usually very happy to accept reasonable restrictions on his freedom but he had been unusually assertive about finding out the secret plans to capture the evil spirit now possessing Quirrel. And his guardians had been equally adamant about keeping him completely in the dark about those plans.

Remus tried to reach a reasonable compromise. "How about you and Marybeth go over to the Burrow this afternoon and practice some Quidditch? And then maybe we can tell you a little about the preparations after supper tonight. I don't know why he can't know some generalities Sirius. You know if it was you being kept in the dark, you would have exploded from curiosity long before now."

At Harry's hopeful expression, Sirius took a deep breath and then heaved a deep and resigned sigh. "I suppose you're right, Moony. Okay, Pup how about you go and fetch your sister while I floo call Molly to see if it's all right?"

With a loud whoop of excitement, Harry rushed out of the room to go tell his sister about their afternoon plans.

Sirius looked sharply at a smug looking Remus and remarked caustically, "I hope you're right in telling him anything Moony, I just don't think he's going to be happy until he knows everything."

With a nodding chuckle, Remus agreed, "Just like his father….both of them!"

* * *

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley thank you for letting us come to visit this afternoon." Marybeth was the first one out of the floo and she turned around to watch Harry arrive. No matter how many times she had watched, she still felt a rush of awe when someone appeared magically in the oddly green flames. She had gotten used to the more mundane aspects of the magical world, she barely noticed anymore when Remus, Sirius or Harry used a wand to summon an object or light up the room, but the floo network still fascinated her.

"Hey, Mrs. Weasley, are Ron and Ginny outside?" Harry asked before he was even fully out of the fireplace, his hand absentmindedly brushing bits of soot off of his t-shirt and jeans.

"Yes, and you can go out and help them finish picking some apples from the orchard. I promised Arthur hot apple crisp for pudding tonight and the apples are coming just ripe for it and the apple jelly I want to put up later." She handed them each a cloth sack before shooing them out the kitchen door and into the early afternoon sunlight.

"Beat you there!" Harry took off running before Marybeth even agreed and the two chased each other across the yard and into the shade of the ancient apple orchard, their breathless giggles announcing their arrival to the rest of the Weasley clan before they came into view.

A loud chorus of greetings echoed through the trees before the large group split up, the older children each taking a younger one to help find the best apples for their Mum.

Harry tried hard to suppress the almost unconscious wrinkle of disgust that briefly showed on his face as he found himself paired with the overbearing and exceedingly pompous Percy. He made faces at the boy's back as the fifteen year old led them deeper into the woods and away from their friends.

"The best trees are deeper in the woods away from the edges. The others are too lazy to come back this far so they don't get picked as often and the shade keeps the apples from getting dried out and sunburned." Percy droned on about how much better the apples were and how his brothers and sister would be so much better if they just made the extra effort to excel rather than doing just the bare minimum.

"Now, Harry I would be more than willing to help you at Hogwarts. I can help you set up a study schedule and show you my design for taking notes…" Harry tuned out the older boy and just looked around at how the sunlight streaming through the old apple trees created dappled areas of light and shadow. He enjoyed the coolness after the heat of the August sun and was just thinking of how the afternoon would be perfect if only he didn't have to be with Percy and his incessant bossy talking.

* * *

Sirius and Remus had floo-ed to the Headmasters office right after the children left for the afternoon to see if any progress had been made in finding a containment spell for the evil wraith that was now Voldemort.

"Hello, Albus. Any progress yet?" Remus had straightened up and was now walking over to a pair of comfortable armchairs that the Headmaster had motioned to.

"Yes, now that you ask. Please sit down and let me call for tea before we discuss it further. I would like to have the Professors in on the discussion too if you don't mind."

After Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Vector and Snape had arrived and everyone had a cup of tea or coffee in hand, Albus turned to Filius and asked him to summarize what they had found out in the past week.

The tiny Professor leaned forward to put his teacup down, nodding his thanks to Minerva who helped him reach the table and then cleared his throat, looking around the circle at the expectant faces.

"Well, we have been able to translate the spell used thanks to Harry's pensieved memory and used that as a basis for devising a containment device to hold the wraith of V-v-voldemort until we can destroy it. The problem is we aren't quite sure how he has managed to survive up until now without a physical body. I know you have been very busy with former contacts Severus, have you found out anything?"

With a look of supreme distaste upon his sour face, the lanky haired potions Professor steepled his fingers and looked around the group, gathering his thoughts before speaking. "Yes, I have and it is most disturbing…" he paused for dramatic effect.

"Well, what have you found out?" Sirius demanded hastily, ruining the moment for Snape.

"It seems the Dark Lord's paranoid fear about death led him to the darkest magic there is. He created several horcruxes and that is how he has managed to survive disembodiment."

Several gasps met his pronouncement, but most of his listeners had a look of bewilderment and confusion rather than horror. He took a deep breath and began speaking once more.

"A horcrux is a piece of your soul that you break off and place into a specially prepared container to prevent your own death. As long as a piece of your soul remains in the physical plain you cannot be killed, as least not entirely. It is a cursed existence, neither truly alive nor completely dead. Most people would consider such a state worse than death, but not the Dark Lord. My research has led me to believe that he was intent upon splitting his soul into seven pieces when Potter managed to dissolve his physical body. If not for the horcrux he would have been totally vanquished on that date."

Everyone gasped at the horrific news and sat in desperate silence for several moments before Albus asked gently. "Do you know how many he was able to make, Severus? Just how many of these accursed soul fragments are we fighting?"

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, as if his head was hurting before looking at the old man and answering. "According to some discrete questioning of the Death Eaters now incarcerated in Azkaban, he planned on a total of seven as he believed that to be the perfect and most powerful magical number. He had completed five, one of which had been destroyed by Regulus Black before the Dark Lord killed him for his treason. He planned on making the sixth the night he killed the Potters." He looked around his audience and offered a small explanation to them.

"In order to split your soul you must prepare with several dark rituals, drink a potion and then murder someone. As their soul is torn from their body, your soul also splits into a visible form that you can then capture into a specially prepared vessel. As long as a single piece of your soul remains, you can use that to regain a body, though the more times you split your soul, the less human you will be. The Dark Lord was barely recognizable as human before he went to the Potters, I would assume any body he could reanimate would be scarcely recognizable as human and would be more demon like than anything else."

Albus looked up, a small bit of hope showing on his old face, "You say one of them was destroyed by Regulus Black? Do you know how it was accomplished?"

Snape shook his head, his shoulders slumping. "No and neither did anyone among the inmates that I questioned."

Sirius had been strangely silent since his older brother had been mentioned. He had known that Voldemort himself had killed him in anger, but he had never known why. It made him doubly sad that his brother had turned away from the awful life of a Death Eater and he had never known about it. For ten years he had thought his brother deserved to die for the terrible things he had done as a Death Eater and now it seemed his brother had repented only to be killed for his change of heart.

He looked up, unshed tears glistening in his eyelashes and spoke softly. "Do you think Reg would have found out how in the Black library? I will let you have access to it if you think that will help. I know that Reg kept journals of all his spell craft and research in a locked safe in his old bedroom. They might still be there, I haven't returned to Grimmald Place since I first left Azkaban when I left it under the Fidelius charm so that none of my cousins could gain access to it. I didn't know if I would need it as a safe house before I found out what was happening to Harry and decided to remain with him."

Snape and the others looked both excited and apprehensive about researching in the Black library, after all the family was notorious for their knowledge of the Dark Arts and blood magic. Filius piped up, "I know that it will greatly help in our research, Sirius and I would like to take you up on your kind offer." The others nodded some more reluctantly than the others, and then Albus asked for Snape to continue his report.

Minerva had a very thoughtful expression on her face before she began to speak very softly, almost as if she was speaking to herself rather than the group gathered in the Headmaster's office.

"If he intended to create a horcrux by killing little Harry, he must have already had a vessel prepared to capture his soul fragment. Do you suppose we might find that vessel and then use it to capture the fragment now possessing Quirrel, at least until we can find out how to destroy them all…?"

Remus jumped up to his feet, excitement showing on his face, "I have a couple of large boxes and a trunk that the aurors brought to me after that night. I had never been able to force myself to go through it. To be truthful, I had forgotten all about them after the mess with the Dursleys and then since I was living with Sirius and Harry at Potter Manor, I just forgot they are still in the attic in my old cottage."

Albus looked ten years younger as he contemplated the group watching him intently. "I think that just might work, at least as a stop gap until we can destroy them. It is my understanding that they take a surge of magic from the outside to release the soul fragment, that they cannot leave the vessel from the inside without help. Is that correct, Severus?"

After pushing back several strands of lank hair, Snape answered thoughtfully, "Yes…that is my understanding also. They must be released from the outside, either by a conscious influx of magic or a knowing or innocent allowance of possession."

"What do you mean an innocent allowance of possession? How can any willing possession be innocent?" Both Flitwick and Remus asked.

"There was a case over two hundred years ago where a man fearing death, placed a horcrux inside of a child's porcelain doll in a shop's display case. When the doll was eventually sold after the man's apparent death, the child loved the doll and began to treat it as if the doll was talking back to her. Her parents thought nothing about it; she was just a normal child playing with a beloved possession and using her imagination, correct? The longer the child had the doll, the weaker the child became and the brighter and newer the doll looked. Eventually the doll simply took over the child's mind and body and the true nature of the possession became apparent. The wizard was destroyed, but the child had to be killed also to accomplish it." Albus looked almost as sick when he finished relating the story as the people hearing it for the first time did.

Sirius looked resolute once he had processed the new information. "Remus, you and I should begin looking through James and Lily's possessions tonight. But how will we know what the vessel is? Are we looking for something that we don't recognize as theirs? Or will it have any special significance? Is there a detection spell?"

Albus shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he didn't know the answers to his questions so Snape spoke up.

"Lucius Malfoy has very little lucid thoughts left after six years with the dementors, but he had the most information buried in his mind about the horcruxes. Using legilimens," Snape couldn't help the snarl of distaste and disgust that showed briefly before his calm mask slipped back into place, "he had possession of the Dark Lord's old diary that was hidden below the drawing room floor at Malfoy Manor, a ring hidden at the old Gaunt house, Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, Helga Hufflepuffs chalice and Slytherin's locket. Though the locket was destroyed by Regulus Black; he doesn't know where the Ravenclaw diadem is, though he suspects somewhere within Hogwarts herself. The Hufflepuff cup was safely stored inside the LeStrange's Gringotts Vault. Though with the Ministry confiscating that, who knows were it is now. With the one still in his body that would be six. The sixth one was supposed to be made the night the Potters were killed but he had no idea what it was to be and the seventh one, the Dark Lord intended to place inside his familiar to keep it close at all times. Malfoy had no idea if he had accomplished the placement in his familiar at all."

Albus stroked his long beard as he contemplated this intelligence. "Do you know what his familiar was or even if he had one? I don't recall him having any pets while at Hogwarts."

Snape nodded reluctantly, "Several of the Death Eaters had memories of the Dark Lord talking to a large venomous snake though they don't know what happened to it. There is also some speculation amongst the Death Eaters incarcerated in Azkaban that the scar upon Potter's forehead is in actual fact a horcrux."

* * *

Percy had reached into his shirt pocket and removed Scabbers, his rather decrepit looking pet rat as they reached a small clearing deep in the orchard. He had finally stopped talking and the silence echoed around them, the cool shadows making it seem as if the two boys and the scruffy rat were the only occupants in the whole world.

Percy plopped down on the remains of a fallen log and stroked the head of his rat. "I don't know why you are losing weight and looking so awful, Scabbers. The rat tonic Mum brewed up hasn't seemed to help at all."

Harry plopped down on the cool grass, wondered when exactly Percy had stopped talking about the wonders of studying hard and when he had gotten on the subject of his rather pathetic looking pet rat. He shrugged to himself. 'Oh well, one subject is just as boring as the next when you're in the presence of Percy Weasley.' He plucked a long piece of grass and began to chew one end.

Scabbers turned his rat head to the hand that was stroking his head and clamped his sharp teeth into one finger, biting as hard as he could.

"Ouch! What'd you do that for, Scabbers?" Percy stood up, dropping the rat into the grass at his feet as he stuffed his bleeding finger into his mouth.

To the boys shock, the form of the rat shimmered for just a moment before stretching and widening impossibly into the form of a short, round, and balding man. With a disgusted snarl, the man pulled out a wand and stunned a very shocked Percy.

"I never thought I'd ever get that ponce to shut up!" the man whined as he turned to Harry who was scrabbling like a crab trying to get away from the stranger. "Can't have you trying to escape now can we, Mr. Potter." He said with an insane, high pitched little giggle.

"I'm not…who are…what's going…" Harry was rather incoherent in shock as he scrabbled across the grass, madly looking around for a hiding place in the small clearing.

Harry finally got enough sense to flick his arm shooting his own wand into his hand but he had hesitated too long and he had barely begun to shout before the stunner hit his chest and he succumbed to the rapidly encroaching darkness.

* * *

Fred and George had been sent to fetch the wayward duo when Percy and Harry didn't show up with the others. After grousing with their Mum about whether or not it would be better to just leave Percy lost they reluctantly dropped their own full apple sacks and began the long trudge deep into the orchard. At various times they had each been subjected to Percy's very long winded opinion about where the best apples could be found so they had a very good idea about where to find their brother and their friend.

George took off running, yelling back over his shoulder at his twin, "Come on Fred, times a wastin' Quidditch time!"

Fred put on a burst of speed and moved ahead of George, "Beat you there, slowpoke!"

The two boys were out of breath and laughing by the time they reached Percy's favorite clearing but they became sober and serious when they were greeted with deep silence.

"Percy can't stand silence…he loves to hear himself talk too much to allow it…"

"So where do you reckon they are?"

"Dun no, maybe just look around a bit, you reckon?"

The two cautiously circled the clearing, finally spotting the crumpled form of Percy behind a moldering log. With equal cried of disbelief and concern, the twins raced over to roll their brother over onto his back. Percy's body just flopped limply and lifelessly as the two began to panic.

"Where's Harry?" George stood up and began to search while Fred was slapping Percy's cheeks, trying to awaken his brother.

"Un...uhn…" Percy moaned in pain as his brother lifted his shoulders and leaned him against the half rotten log, ignoring the small insects that were disturbed by the movement.

"Percy…Percy…what happened? Where's Harry?"

"Uggg…don...know…uhnnn" Percy moaned again, trying to move his pounding head as little as possible.

Fred looked over at his brother who had made it halfway around the clearing, looking for clues as to where Harry could have gotten off to. "Hey, George…I'll stay here with Percy…you better go back and get Mum. She'll know what to do." His voice quavered but he put on a brave face.

"No…wait…tell her…Scabbers transformed….strange man….stunned me…took Harry." Percy managed to get out between sobs of pain as his head throbbed in time to his rapid heartbeat.

Both twins paled as their brothers words registered. Fred looked around the now suspect orchard, imaging a stranger ready with a wand behind each now menacing apple tree. He exchanged nervous glances with his brother before nodding once more.

"Go on… just hurry back would you?"

"Sure Fred…just hang in there I'll be back before you can say 'Bob's your Uncle.'" George took off toward the Burrow at full speed, dodging trees and jumping over obstacles as he ran.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the multiple cliff hangers…no, actually I'm not! It is fun to write them, though perhaps not as much fun to read them. I hope to have another chapter up soon. Thank you for reading this and a big thank you for everyone who takes the time to review. (Remember I can't type a new chapter if I am injured, so no Unforgivables or flamers!) 


	20. Chapter 20: To the Rescue

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

AN: Sorry about not writing in so long on anything, but first I was in a minor car accident in the middle of moving to the new house and tore the cartilage in my knee, the one that was already bad of course. So that really slowed down the unpacking plus doctors and getting my car repaired. I discovered the hard way that anything I write while on Oxycontin will only make sense to someone else on the same medication. Plus I get really creative with spelling! Then three weeks ago I had a fight with a potato and it won. (Don't wield a sharp knife when on pain medications!) I had four stitches in the palm of my left hand and now that they are out, the whole outside of my hand, including my little finger is numb. It's bizarre typing when you can't feel your little finger and half of your ring finger. I will try to type but it might not be as fast as usual as I can only type a couple of paragraphs at a time before my hand starts hurting rather badly.

Chapter 20: To the Rescue!

Harry bit back a groan as he regained consciousness. He had remembered the strange man and the stunner hitting him as he stood frozen in shock after watching Percy's pet rat transform into someone he recognized from the photo albums of his fathers time at Hogwarts. How had Peter Pettigrew remained hidden all that time? Wasn't he supposed to be dead? His head pounding in time to his heartbeat, he concentrated on pushing away the pain behind his mental shields. As the throbbing eased, he mentally thanked Sirius and Remus for insisting that he learn Muggle meditation techniques. It had begun as a way to deal with his recurrent nightmares about his life at the Dursleys, in particular the incident where Dudley pushed him down the stairs, and then continued because it would help him keep his identity secret. And now they had been teaching him basic Occlumency for the last ten days after his horrific vision of the frightening possession he had witnessed. He wasn't very good yet, but he was making rapid progress once the old Headmaster had been able to enter his mind and show him how to build the shields from the inside rather than just trying to describe the process.

After clearing his mind and strengthening his shields, he focused on his other senses, trying to gather information about where he was and who was around him before he opened his eyes and gave away the fact that he was now awake. He knew from his training that most wizards would expect him to remain stunned for much longer than he had been. One of the side benefits of Occlumency was the mental control necessary to throw off the effects of stunners and body binds more rapidly.

He could hear someone softly humming tunelessly and very off-key but it seemed there was no one else around. He could hear a faint echo so they must be inside rather than still in the orchard. Now that he thought about it, the hard floor was covered with some kind of dusty old carpet. He could feel the threadbare backing through his fingers as he lay sprawled out, his hands flung out to each side and his head at an uncomfortable angle, as if he had just been dropped rather than put down gently. And that would explain why his head was pounding so badly, too.

He deliberately slowed his breathing down, trying to mimic unconsciousness while fighting the almost overwhelming urge to sneeze out the dusty air in his nostrils. He counted silently and slowly to fifty until the urge finally passed. He turned his senses inward to take stock of his condition. Pettigrew had apparently not expected the boy to be carrying a second emergency wand for it was still safely strapped to his right ankle in the dragon-hide wand holster that Remus had just given him for his birthday and that both men now insisted he have on his body at all times, even while he slept. And he could still feel the comforting weight of his Potter crest necklace still around his neck. With the shocking knowledge of the resurrection of Voldemort, Paddy had turned his family protection amulet into an emergency portkey. Now all Harry had to do was to reach up and grab it while saying the activation phrase without the little rat man noticing he was awake and stunning him again, or even casting a worse curse before he could disappear completely.

By the soft humming, Wormtail was busy over about five feet away on his left side with something. He could hear him shuffling back and forth, back and forth and there was a steady but irregular sound of metal hitting metal, either the rat man was cooking something or he was working on a potion of some kind, and the foul moldy smell meant he was brewing something. And Harry had no desire to find out for sure what the evil git was brewing. He took a chance and opened his eyes barely enough to see just a little slit of the room through his dark eyelashes.

He couldn't help the startled shiver and the involuntary gulp he made when he realized there was a huge frightening snake curled up only a couple feet away, warming itself in front of a smoldering fire in a decrepit and sooty old marble fireplace. The snakes head was buried deeply within its own coils so Harry didn't think it was awake but he was quite hesitant to move very much, thinking the snake would probably wake at the slightest noise of his movement.

Harry carefully edged his hand that was furthest from the two nearer and nearer to his own side. Then one finger at a time he stealthily worked his hand up his side, stopping after every few inches to peek through his eyelashes once more. He had reached his chest and was just trying to wiggle a finger under the neckband of his t-shirt to touch the amulet where it lay in a comforting weight against his chest when Wormtail started speaking.

* * *

The entire group from Dumbledore's office apperated to the Burrow after they received the frantic and very hysterical floo call from Molly about Harry being missing, and a transforming pet rat that had stunned Percy and disappeared with Harry. Poppy was left to tend to a whining Percy and a loudly complaining group of underage witches and wizards while all of the adults went to search the orchard for clues. Glynnis was still at Potter Manor and had been apprised of the situation so that she could keep an eye out for Harry if he managed to use his emergency portkey to escape. She might not be magical, but she could send a house elf with a message to the others if he showed up.

Albus was showing some of the powerful aura that made him a force to be reckoned with, while even Snape was allowing some of his worry to show on his usually masked face. Sirius and Remus were both beside themselves with frantic worry about their pup so they had been split up and Sirius was sent with Minerva McGonagall since she still inspired fear in her one time student and it was thought she might be able to keep him from doing anything too reckless, well, it was hoped she would be able to. Remus, Filius and Professor Vector had grouped together to search for clues.

Sirius lifted his head in the air, almost as if he was listening for something only he could hear before he transformed into Padfoot and dropped his nose to the ground, sniffing loudly. He lifted his head and let out a mournful and long howl before taking off at a run into the orchard. McGonagall huffed in exasperation before transforming into a cat and taking off at a full out run after the rapidly disappearing dog.

* * *

Albus was standing with his arms outstretched and his eyes closed in the middle of a clearing deep within the old apple orchard, a white faced Snape watching him closely when the determined dog and a madly scrambling cat burst into the side of the clearing. Snape turned to them and hissed, "Quiet you mangy cur, Dumbledore is tracing the magical trace of Pettigrew before it disappears completely."

Sirius and Minerva quietly changed back and panted heavily to catch their breath as the three stood silently and watched the old mage hopefully. Albus turned as he brought both hands together, his palms touching as he held his arms together at chest height then with a satisfied sigh, he opened his eyes and spoke.

"I have followed the apparition trail to a place that I have visited before. When I was investigating the possibility of a young boy spending his summers with his father's family rather than being returned to the Muggle orphanage in which he was most unsatisfactorily placed, I met with a Mr. Thomas Riddle, Sr., only to find him adamantly against anything to do with the son he had never met. It seems that the child's mother, one Merope Gaunt, had employed love potions to entrap him into running away with her, but when the potion failed, he deserted the then pregnant witch and vowed to never speak her name or acknowledge the child of their brief union. For some reason, Mr. Pettigrew is now residing in the old Riddle Manor house."

He looked around at the small group, his eyes shining with barely contained power. "I shall apperate there and then send a pulse for you to follow." With a small grimace, he disappeared, a small whoosh of air the only sound of his disappearance.

Not even a minute late, the clearing stood empty and quiet once more as the three wizards and one witch disapperated, following the pulse guiding them to the old Riddle Manor.

* * *

"Ah, my little precious…it will be just a few more minutes …. And then…" Wormtail's voice trailed off as he quickly stirred something else into the madly boiling potion. He counted to thirty under his breath before mumbling again. "My Master will be so pleased with me when he returns… only I remembered his precious Nagini…" he added a putrid greenish grey liquid to the brew and continued his muttering. "How dare those filthy Muggles confine you…such a magnificent serpent…how dare they….a filthy Muggle zoo…Master shall make them all pay….and I will be by his side in triumph!" With a satisfied deep sigh, Pettigrew swished his wand at the flames and doused them. He turned to the sleeping snake and softly whispered, "Sleep well; I just need to let this cool and then bottle it."

Pettigrew walked over to the slumped figure still sprawled awkwardly on the filthy old carpet and pushed him in the back with a shabbily shod foot. "Hmmm, my magics still as strong as ever…" a nasty and evil smile stretched the flabby white cheeks as he talked to himself, a gleam of madness apparent in his watery blue eyes, "I'll show those stupid… they just tolerated me… always looking down on me … I'll show them all that I'm the strongest of them all." Still muttering about revenge under his breath, he turned and walked out of the room.

Harry waited only long enough to hear the footsteps recede before he grasped his necklace and muttered softly, "Safe haven." He registered a loud angry hissing voice calling for Pettigrew to return as he felt the familiar pulling behind his navel of the portkey taking him away. But he had underestimated the time necessary for the evil little rat man to return. An unknown spell, swirling dark black with tinges of violent deep purple hit him in the chest with the force and power of a bludger as he finally disappeared. Harry screamed with pain as he felt at least one rib crack and then gave way with a horrible sounding snap before he lost his battle with unconsciousness and his body disappeared from the filthy and decrepit old mansion.

* * *

Albus had apperated into a small clearing deep within copse of old beech trees that began just 500 meters from the crumbling relic of a long gone wealthy lifestyle and waited barely a minute or two until the other three appeared beside him in the small clearing. He pulled them close enough to whisper, "The Manor is just through these woods and down a small slope. If I remember correctly, this is the backside of the house and there is a kitchen door directly facing the woods." He placed a restraining arm on Sirius' shoulder. "Wait please, Sirius. I know that you are anxious to retrieve Harry, but it will do no good to warn the occupants that we are coming."

Sirius reluctantly nodded, his head still swiveling to look towards the house he couldn't see through the untended and thick growth of trees. He literally bounced on the balls of his feet, anxious to rescue his son.

Albus used a commanding voice to regain the distraught man's attention. "Minerva, if you could, change form and then reconnoiter for combatants for us? I do believe you would be less conspicuous than an overgrown black dog." She had barely nodded before she disappeared, shrinking down into a small grey and black tabby with odd markings around its eyes. A sharp hiss of determination and she disappeared down an overgrown trail, her small lithe body allowing her to slip unencumbered through the tangle of underbrush, dead branches and moldering mounds of old leaves.

The trio of wizards slipped with a lot less speed though the woods, following in the general direction of the small feline, the sounds of their passing muffled with the judicious use of silencing spells. By the time they had worked their way through the tangled copse, Minerva had circled around the old and decrepit building returning to the back of the building once more. She noticed there was a gap in the rotting boards that covered every window on the ground floor near the nailed shut kitchen door. She climbed onto the old porch, careful where she stepped and stopped below the small window. She stood on her hind legs, her ears flickering forward to catch the smallest sounds from inside. She could hear only a single muffled voice but it was too far away for her to distinguish any words. She stretched up a paw and pushed aside the remains of a rotten board, hoping she could make a space large enough to enter. Her ears twitched backwards as she caught a muffled sound of a twig cracking and swiveled her head to see the three wizards hidden deep inside the shadows of the beech trees just inside the woods.

With a soft plop, she dropped to the boards of the old porch and carefully made her way back to the three waiting men. "I could only hear one voice, but it was too far away to understand what they were saying. It did sound a lot like Mr. Pettigrew but I cannot be certain. It has after all, been over nine years since I last spoke with him." A small curl of her lip gave away her distaste at the mere thought of what her one time Gryffindor student had done.

Sirius snarled, very much like his alter ego Padfoot in that moment. Snape grabbed one arm while Dumbledore grabbed the other, physically restraining the furious wizard.

"Let me….I have to…let me go, NOW!" He managed to keep his voice to a hissing whisper, but his fury was still apparent.

Dumbledore pulled his wand out with his free hand and muttered a soft calming spell. They had to wait a moment until Sirius visibly relaxed before letting him go and grouping around Minerva.

"Could you get inside the kitchen and open the door for us, Minerva? I am rather reluctant to apperate directly into an unknown situation based upon 50 year old memories…and it might endanger Harry even more." Albus looked hopefully at McGonagall. She nodded her understanding and turned toward the Manor house. She transformed as she went down the narrow path and was fully a cat before she exited the woods into full view of the house. She lightly jumped onto the porch, now more sure that the wood would not simply crumble under her negligible weight and then gracefully leaped to disappear into the darkness of the kitchen, missing the windowsill and the rotten boards that boarded it up entirely. It seemed like forever before the back door opened without a sound and an elegant white hand beckoned the men forward.

One by one, they slipped into the dank and mildew smelling kitchen, standing to one side to allow the next to enter while their eyes adjusted to the absolute darkness after the glaring brightness of the late summer afternoon sun outside.

With a finger in front of her lips, Minerva led the men across the dark expanse and over to a set of servants stairs hidden in the shadows of a corner. She led the way stealthily up the stairs and stopped before a closed and peeling wooden door two flights up. Behind the door, the four could hear the sounds of metal on metal and someone talking to them self. Footsteps sounded leading away as they grew softer, then an angry hissing erupted and pounding footsteps sounded louder and louder as the person ran back into the room.

Sirius could wait no longer and with a roar of righteous anger he threw himself against the shut door, his shoulder splintering the ancient wood into fragments as he charged into the room, his wand out in his hand and ready.

He shrieked with impotent fury as he saw the malevolent black and purple spell hit his son in the chest as he disappeared from view, the familiar swirling colors of a portkey surrounding the screaming child. He blasted his very surprised former friend into the nearest wall as both Dumbledore and Snape cremated a huge, hissing black viper as it wiggled madly across the floor towards where the boy had disappeared. Minerva had her wand ready and had Pettigrew stunned and bound before he slid completely down the wall and crumpled into a motionless puddle on the floor.

Yelling at the three as he stood up to disapperate once again, Sirius just managed to scream out, "Harry had emergency portkey…Potter Manor" as he popped away, leaving the Headmaster and the two Professors to deal with Pettigrew.

* * *

AN: I know this is shorter than normal, but I really wanted to post something so that you know I haven't given up writing this. Now a question, do you want Pettigrew to have died from the attack or do you want him captured and tried, or captured and then escape once again? I am open to suggestions and thank you to everyone who has continued to support me during this trying time. Especially the suggestion to start carrying a rabbit's foot! 


	21. Chapter 21: Pettigrew's Revenge

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

AN: I am sorry it is taking so long to post each chapter, but I have to stop typing after a couple of paragraphs because of my hand hurting. I have not given up on any of my stories, I will just keep plodding along and post when I can. Thank you to all of you who keep reading my poor offerings and an especially big thank you to all those who leave a review, it helps keep me typing even when my hand is hurting!

Chapter 21: Pettigrew's Revenge

Glynnis was pacing back and forth, back and forth, in the entrance hall of Potter Manor, muttering imprecations under her breath at being left behind and unable to do…anything…while Harry was lost and maybe hurt, or heaven forbid, dying! No she couldn't think things like that; she had to be positive, after all Harry had survived before when she had thought he had died. And the things that wizards and witches could do with potions and spells just took her breath away. Too bad such things remained hidden from the non-magical world, it would revolutionize modern medicine. Of course she had been told that most healing spells and all healing potions did not work on muggles, since it used a person's magical core to anchor the healing powers. Her mind wandered as she went back to muttering vague obscenities about the vile creature that had the audacity to kidnap her new son and her new husband who had the utter gall to leave her behind.

She heard a thump and a crash from upstairs followed by a loud scream that was suddenly cut off, as if the person had been silenced, or went unconscious, or…died. She was running up the broad staircase before her mind fully registered what she had heard, forcing her emotions deep down as her brain automatically entered what she sometimes called her 'nurse in crisis mode'. She knew from experience that she would do whatever was necessary as long as it was an emergency, even if she broke down in hysterics later.

She grabbed the ornate newel post on the top of the staircase and use it to pivot and launched herself down the hall at a full out run, absentmindedly noting that she was heading for Harry's room at the end of the long hall. She pushed the half open door out of her way so hard that it hit the wall, leaving a round hole in the plaster before slamming shut at her heels as she ran forward and around the end of Harry's large four poster bed. She stopped for only a fraction of a second to asses the sight before her and slid across the rug towards Harry, landing on her knees beside the bloody heap of unconscious child.

Her mind totally focused on the job before her, she quickly assessed the boy. His shallow and rasping breaths let her know he had damage to his lungs; of course, the gaping bloody slash across his small chest was visible proof of that. His skin was clammy and white from blood loss, his heartbeat steady but growing faint as his lifeblood continued to flow down his sides to puddle in a widely growing pool under his body. With strength borne of desperation, she grabbed his slashed t-shirt in both hands and ripped it open, exposing his chest. She pulled her own sleeveless t-shirt off of her head and wadded it into a ball before stuffing it into the gaping wound and pushing down as hard as she dared to try and stop the bleeding. She heard a loud crack downstairs and heard thundering footsteps running up the steps, sounding as if they were only making contact with every third or fourth riser in the person's haste. She recognized Sirius' frantic shout and answered him.

"In here, Siri, grab the medical bag from our room on your way!"

There was no answer, but she heard the footsteps divert into the master bedroom followed by loud cursing and the sounds of things being thrown out of the closet as he searched for her nursing bag, before the footsteps thundered toward her again. Sirius appeared in the doorway, his chest heaving from exertion as he grabbed the doorframe to stop his forward momentum and slumped down beside his frantically working wife.

"What … can … I … do?" He gasped out as he tried to get his breathing and heartbeat under control again, knowing he had to remain calm and focus on his son in order to save him.

In an odd, inflectionless tone, Glynnis asked, "Can you heal this someway?" as she removed the blood soaked t-shirt from the gaping wound that slit Harry's chest open from his left collarbone and down almost to his waist on the right side. The middle of the wound gaped open and blood still oozed out, though it was no longer running freely.

Sirius nodded, too afraid if he stopped to answer her he would loose his focus on the task at hand. He took a deep breath to steady his shaking hand and pointed his wand at Harry's chest. He literally shouted as he forced as much magic as he could into the spell, thankful for the emergency field healing that had been part of his Auror training so long ago. "Subsisto crudus quod resarcio tela!" Both Glynnis and Sirius held their breaths and watched expectantly, hoping the spell would work. Slowly, the blood stopped oozing and the ends of the wound began to knit together. As the wound healed from each end, the gap in the middle grew narrower and narrower, until with a soft slurping squishy sound, the massive wound sealed itself, a long bright pink line and the dried blood that still marred the too pale skin the only reminder of the injury.

Harry was still laboring to breathe, the gurgling raspy sound of each breath echoing hollowly in his silent room as Glynnis leaned forward to check out her new son better now that he wouldn't bleed to death in the next ten seconds. A strangled sob from beside her was almost buried under the sounds of multiple arrivals in the entrance hall below them.

Sirius turned his head toward the open door and yelled, "Up in Harry's room!"

* * *

Albus had sent Minerva back to the Burrow with a bound and unconscious Pettigrew in tow with orders to turn the traitor over to the Aurors for processing and trial and then to bring Poppy to Potter Manor with all due haste as he had recognized the black and purple light of the spell as a dark magic cutting curse that needed both medical and magical healing almost immediately if the poor boy was to have any hope of surviving it.

Minerva landed with much less aplomb than normal from Albus' portkey and immediately dropped Pettigrew onto the ground, a small smile of satisfaction crossed her face as she heard the resounding thud of his head hitting the hard packed dirt of the bare yard outside the back door of the Burrow where they had arrived. She turned intending to call out only to find herself facing more than a dozen wands from all directions. However, as soon as her identity was recognized, the wands focused instead on the crumpled and bound form lying in a heap on the ground in front of her very sensible boots.

Kingsley let an evil smile show as his white teeth gleamed against his black skin, "Robard and Tonks, take this piece of trash to the Ministry for processing. And make sure he's bound with anti-animagus and magic suppressing bonds." The two Aurors selected grinned with an identical feral grins as they each grabbed one of Pettigrew's arms and disappeared with a swirl of color.

Minerva glared at the others present and forced them into guilty silence without having to speak a single word. She looked at Poppy as she told the assembled group what she knew. "Albus was able to follow Pettigrew's apparition trail," her face scrunched with distaste as she said the former Gryffindor's traitorous name, "and we found young Harry just as he was activating his emergency portkey for Potter Manor. Unfortunately, the rat was able to hit him with an unknown spell as he was disappearing and from the screams it hit Harry and was most painful and damaging."

Molly collapsed into her husbands strong arms as she sobbed; the sounds overly loud in the still silence as the others shocked faces expressed their disbelief at what had happened on such a lovely and peaceful summer day.

Poppy cursed under her breath, grabbed the large potions satchel she had waiting in readiness at her feet and disappeared with a loud pop, the sounds of her cursing cutting off in mid-word with her dis-apperation. Minerva followed a mere second later with a much softer pop, her lips tightly pressed together into an impossibly thin line, holding back the same curses.

As Arthur herded his still distressed wife and children into the Burrow, the others that had gathered to help in the hunt for the kidnapped boy disappeared one by one as they left to go notify the other searchers that the boy had been found, although not in the condition they had hoped for.

* * *

Sirius looked over his shoulder and yelled downstairs at the sound of multiple apparitions sounded downstairs. "Up here, in Harry's room…and hurry!"

By the sounds of the footsteps hurrying up the stairs, there were quite a few people heading their way. Sirius and Glynnis sincerely hoped that Poppy was one of them. And, in fact, the others had held back somewhat to let her be the first one through the doorway.

"What have you done for him so far, and do you know the spell that hit him? Minerva said it was dark but she didn't recognize what it was." Poppy had dropped down to the floor and pushed in between Sirius and Harry with Glynnis still on the floor beside him, the bloody t-shirt forgotten in her hands.

"He had a gash across his chest, massive blood loss; he is having a hard time breathing and obviously has rib and lung damage. I haven't checked but I imagine his blood pressure is drastically low…" Glynnis' voice faded into nothingness as Poppy took over, her wand moving over the limp form so quickly it blurred.

Poppy didn't even look up from her spelling as she spoke, certain that her long time friend and colleague had followed her to the Potter Manor. "Two blood replenishers, a magic stabilizer and replenisher, and I will need someone to fetch Professor Snape with his strongest magical core strengthener and at least two vials of metabolism stabilizer."

Without a word, Minerva McGonagall transformed to run down the stairs to the apparition point in the front hall once more, on her way to fetch the Hogwarts potions master as quickly as possible, the horrible sight of the corpse white boy spurring her to her fastest speed.

Poppy returned her attention to her patient as a gasping gurgle escaped from between his lips accompanied by a surge of bloody frothy foam. Glynnis gasped as she recognized the importance of this and turned to bury her head into Sirius' shoulder as her shoulders began to shake in impotent frustration and rage. Sirius lowered his head to whisper in her ear, his voice cracking with suppressed emotion. "What is it, love? What does that foamy stuff mean?"

Without raising her head, her voice was muffled and distorted but still horrifyingly clear in the deathly silence of the boy's bedroom. "It means his lungs are punctured from the broken ribs…he might not…he might not…" She couldn't finish her horrific sentence before she broke down into heart rending sobs.

Poppy didn't stop working over the limp form, casting spell after spell, but Harry' breathing was growing more and more erratic as his life seeped away in the frothy blood running down both sides of his mouth. "Albus, help me stabilize his breathing, while I spell these blood replenishers and skele-grow into his stomach." Poppy was getting more frantic as nothing she seemed to be doing was taking effect fast enough to save the young life.

"I need more time…hold on Harry, just hang on a little bit more until the potions take effect…" She was praying to every god and goddess she could think of to let the boy hang on long enough for the potions to work.

* * *

Minerva barely registered her arrival at the Hogwarts gates before she transformed back into her cat form and took of at a full run towards the entrance doors of the castle, hoping with every labored breath that she would find Severus in his potions lab and not have to waste any time searching the massive castle to find him.

She leaped up the steps and transformed just long enough to throw open one of the massive oak doors before running down the steps toward the dungeons as a cat once more. She ran past Argus Filch, almost toppling the cranky old squib in her haste to reach the potions master's domain. He yelled obscenities after her until he recognized who had almost bowled him ass over teakettle and wisely shut his mouth before she transformed and fired him. If one of his bosses wanted to madly dash through the castle as a grey cat, it was none of his business after all. Still muttering about the battiness of witches and wizards he went back to supervising the house elves that were polishing the suits of armor in the entrance hall once more.

Minerva slid to a stop at the shut door to Snape's private research lab and stood up tall once more. She rapped once sharply before opening the door, her breathing still labored and raspy. "Severus, are you here?" She knew that he had left the Burrow as soon as the news that Harry had been found was broadcast and she was hoping that he had returned to his brewing once more.

With a disgruntled clang of his stirring stick, Snape looked up at his colleague in exasperation. "What is it now, does precious little Potter have a hangnail from his ordeal?"

Minerva returned Snape's glare with even more hostility that he was showing. "He's been hit with a dark curse. Poppy sent me for two of your strongest metabolism stabilizers and a magical core stabilizer. She might need more blood replenishers; she had given him three of them when I left." She managed to gasp out as she struggled to calm her breathing.

Snape's pasty complexion blanched even more as he recognized the severity of the injury that would require those potions and in those quantities. The boy must have almost bled out his entire volume of blood as well as being very near death to require those stabilizers. They were each so strong that they could have undesirable side effects on their own, but in dire circumstances, undesirable side effects were much better than being dead.

With a quick wave of his wand, he extinguished the flame under the cauldron he was tending, summoned a wooden potions chest to his arms and took off out of the door, yelling over his shoulder to Minerva. "Where are they woman…quit stalling and lead the way!"

With a muttered curse that was technically anatomically impossible, Minerva took off after the running Snape, for once, her green robe billowing behind her every bit as much as his black one was.

* * *

Arthur had managed to force a calming potion down Molly's throat before settling her down in their big bed for a nap while, the children were sent to begin making sandwiches in the unnaturally quiet kitchen. The group finished up in record time and then sat around the battered wooden table, just looking at each other and the untouched plates of food.

His footsteps oddly loud in the silence, Arthur gave a weary sigh as he entered the kitchen and took his seat at the head of the table. "Come children you not eating won't help Harry get better any faster." He gently chided them into eating as he forced himself to swallow his own sawdust tasting sandwich. He had only managed to choke down half of it when a series of pops sounded outside and everyone stood up and rushed out the kitchen door, eager to learn about their friend.

Kingsley and Tonks had apperated into the yard and were walking purposely toward the back door as it exploded outward under the pile of red headed bodies rushing towards them. Tonks held up a hand to stop their forward momentum as Kingsley cleared his throat. "We don't know how Harry is; we just came from the Ministry." He motioned them back toward the kitchen they had just vacated, talking as he walked, surrounded by red heads.

"Pettigrew confessed under Veritaserum and will be kissed later this afternoon after they have gotten any useful information out of him. With him being a rat animagus, the powers that be are too afraid he could escape once again and we would never find him again, so they are rushing the sentencing a bit. But he is guilty and he has confessed." He thankfully took one of the sandwiches that Arthur pressed upon them and the two aurors continued to talk about Pettigrew's revelations as they ate. After all, Madame Bones had decreed the entire transcript of his confession would be printed in the mornings Daily Prophet so the children would know everything by tomorrow morning anyway.

* * *

Harry was gasping for breath, a deep agony filled sound that made everyone present rigid with fear for him. His skin was mottled purple and small blood vessels were breaking, leaving a spider web pattern on his bluish white skin. Until with a loud, bone deep rasp, Harry stopped breathing altogether.

Poppy waved her wand over the limp form and then stood up, her shoulders slumped in defeat. She looked around the room, her eyes stopping on the identically blanched faces of Sirius and Glynnis before she seemed to fold in upon herself and shrink in size.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing more that I can do…if we had managed to keep him going for even a few minutes more for the potions to work." Tears were streaming down her face unnoticed as Albus gathered her into his own trembling arms. He pulled her sobbing and shuddering form into his shoulder as his own tears leaked down into his whiskers.

Remus howled in pain as Sirius crumpled to the floor, his shoulders shuddering as he gasped in loud painful sobs of agony and loss. The sounds of duel apparition sounded from downstairs followed by thundering footsteps up the staircase and then down the room to where they all stood in stunned silence. At the sight of the dead boy on the floor, surrounded by a spreading pool of his own blood, Minerva collapsed against the doorframe while Snape just stood in the center of the room, his potions chest clutched convulsively against his chest as the full implications of what had just happened finally broke through his most carefully erected emotional shields and he joined the stunned group in shedding tears for the small boy who had been the wizarding world's hope for so long.

* * *

AN: Don't kill me; I can't type the next chapter if I am dead. I promise it won't take quite so long to post the next chapter as I seem to be over the writer's block that has been plaguing me for so long. And as always, that you for reading and reviewing, it keeps me going. 


	22. Chapter 22: The Soul Fragment

Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

AN: See, I promised it wouldn't be very long before I updated again. And I was surprised that I had as few reviews calling for my head as I got. And only a few reviewers actually guessed where the story was going in this chapter. Congratulations to them and thank you everyone for continuing to read and review. It keeps me typing.

Chapter 22: The Soul Fragment

The room remained frozen in a horrified tableau for only a moment, the scene indelibly etched on the occupants' psyches for all time. All eyes were focused on the still and bloody form lying crumpled in a spreading pool of crimson as his life's blood continued to spread into the priceless Persian rug of his own bedroom. Poppy, her head still buried into the elderly Headmaster's shoulder, was shuddering in nearly silent sobs as her emotions went out of control. Her frustration at being unable to keep the boy alive the few more precious minutes needed for the potions to work warred with her deep anger and resentment against the despicable fates that had repeatedly made the poor boys life such a hell. Albus seemed to have aged another fifty years as his face drooped; his shoulders slumped as he watched the savior of the wizarding world lying dead at his feet. His eyes were dull and lifeless as he seemed to have lost all hope and will to continue on breathing if the boy on the floor was gone.

Sirius and Remus were huddled together in a boneless mass on the floor, deep wracking sobs echoing as they clung to each other; their last link to their friends Lily and James now gone and never to return. Severus just stood, a single tear leaked out of the corner of each eye as he seemed to shrink in size. The wooden potions chest that he had clutched so tightly to his chest fell from his now numb arms, seeming to fall in slow motion to hit the thick wool rug at his feet without him even noticing.

The dull thud of the potions cabinet hitting the floor seemed to break the group from their frozen state. Minerva pulled her self upright from where she had slumped against the doorframe and turned, her footsteps oddly loud in the echoing silence of the shocked house as she trudged down the stairs to the apparition point in the entrance way to deliver the dreadful and shocking news to those waiting back at the Burrow.

* * *

With a much louder pop than the one she was normally known for, Minerva appeared once more in the hard packed earth that stretched from the kitchen door of the Burrow all the way to the garden. The door exploded outward once more, the tall form of Kingsley, Marybeth's gleaming long black hair, and the shocking pink hair of Tonks the only individuals recognizable in the virtual sea of red heads streaming out toward the Transfiguration Professor. The ones in front stopped suddenly, frozen by the sight of the stooped shoulders of their normally prim and proper Deputy Headmistress. Her normal ramrod posture was gone, replaced by a slump shouldered load of sorrow and despair. Tear tracks down her wrinkled face still glistened as new tears still streamed. She just shook her head no, unable to force the words from her lips, afraid to speak the horrific truth and make it real.

As Ginny, Marybeth and Ron grabbed each other, all three screaming "NO, NO, NO…" in unison, the twins and Percy sank to the ground beside them, every face going paler by the second, the Weasley freckles glaring against the pale, bloodless faces. Tonks joined the children on the unforgiving ground and even Kingsley seemed to loose some of his color as the horrific news that the elderly witch brought them sank in.

Minerva moved forward and, with Arthur and Kingsley's help, pulled the now loudly grieving children up from the ground and herded the massive group back through the kitchen and then into the front parlor where they could slump down in distraught groups on the battered old furniture, clinging together as they tried in vain to console one another.

* * *

Harry's bloodless face with his sightless dull green eyes unblinkingly frozen seemed to glare at the motionless group surrounding him in stunned disbelief. After only a minute that seemed more like eternity to the watching group, the lightening bolt shaped scar above his forehead seemed to shimmer and vibrate in the baffled silence until with a horrific and inhuman screech, it split open into a wide and jagged bloodless gaping wound. The individual cells seemed to ooze darkness, a greasy, oily cloud of pure evil swirled around the pale lifeless face, a swirling miasma of pure evil that was palpable in the still room. The cloud expanded in size as the horrified group could only watch, frozen in disbelief as the darkness grew and grew, finally forming a vaguely humanoid shape with a gaping maw for a mouth and two fathomless pits for eyes. The demonic mouth opening wide in a rictus of inhuman pain and agony, the mass oozed out of the boy's forehead, spreading its malevolence as it rose. It twirled in place, growing taller as the tail stretched downward, still connecting the evil to the boy. Dumbledore threw up a massive shield around the swirling tornado of evil, containing it over the body and refusing it entrance into the mind of any of the now horrified observers.

Its screams gaining in volume and tone until it went past the realm of human hearing into the ultrasonic, the cloud seemed to shrink in upon itself, much like a collapsing nova, until its own density grew too much and it exploded outward in a final demonic shriek. Dumbledore's shield was battered and distorted but it held firm until the last of the darkness faded with a final ear piercing shriek and the last shred of evil disappeared into the ether.

From Poppy leaning on Dumbledore for support, it was now the mediwitch trying in vain to hold up a swiftly collapsing Headmaster as he fell unconscious to the floor from the drain upon his magic. As she lowered the limp form of the elderly wizard to the floor, it was like a spell had been broken. Glynnis seemed to switch on her professional nurse's mode once more as she began issuing orders like the most proficient drill sergeant in her Majesty' Army.

"Snape come here and watch what I'm doing." She tipped back Harry's head with one hand, pinched his nose shut with the other, and took a deep breath before covering his mouth with her own and blowing hard into the boy, watching with her head turned slightly to make sure she was blowing air into his chest and not into his stomach. She then placed her hands, her arms locked tight at the elbow for leverage, directly below his sternum and pushed in and upward, counting to five as she did so.

She grabbed Snape's hands as he knelt beside her and placed his hands exactly where hers had been. "Push in and up five times, then wait for me to breathe, and then push again. Keep it up until I tell you to stop."

She breathed into Harry again and then turned to watch as Snape rather hesitantly pushed against the boy's unresponsive and cooling flesh. The air she had breathed in made a loud flapping sound as it rushed out in response to Snape's rather hesitant motions, emptying Harry's lungs for the next breath from Glynnis.

"Good, but push harder next time with your elbows locked, you are making his heart contract enough to push the blood up to his brain." She took the time to instruct the pale faced potion's master before returning to her own task, her words rapid but succinct.

Remus and Sirius had stopped sobbing and were sitting together, watching what the two were doing even as they remained clasped tightly in each other's arms.

Time seemed to stand still as Glynnis and Snape continued their desperate efforts to give Harry enough time for the magical potions still in his system to work. Sweat running down both of their faces in exhaustion, arms trembling with fatigue they both refused to give up their exertions. After what seemed to be an eternity, Glynnis turned to Poppy were she sat on the floor beside the still comatose Headmaster still in shock, watching with fascination what the two were attempting to do without understanding how what they were doing could possibly work.

As she ran a hand threw her sweat slicked hair, trying to keep the sweat from running into her eyes, Glynnis finally directed Poppy, "Madame Pomfrey, can you send a shock to his heart to get it beating again?"

With a glimmering light of understanding washing into the pale blue eyes of the mediwitch, she stood up, leaning over the prostrate Harry, pulled her wand and shouted, "Enervate" with more force than she probably needed to, but her desperation and frustration fed strong emotions into her magic and molded the spell to her desperate wish to save the boy.

Harry's back arched as the strong lightning like bolt of pure magic hit him directly in the chest, making Snape snatch his hands back with a muttered oath. "Bloody hell, woman…give a wizard a little warn…" his words cut off as the seemingly dead body at his knees gave a deep shuddering breath, the ragged gasp sounding unnaturally loud in the silent room.

All eyes unblinkingly upon the boy, they waited and waited holding their own breathes in hope, but no more breaths came. Glynnis swallowed a sob as she instructed, "Again, Poppy!"

As the second bolt of magic hit Harry's chest, everyone in the room held their breath once more, each praying to whatever deity they treasured to help the child. A long silence stretched until the small chest moved once again, the motion so slight that if they had not been watching so intently they might have missed it altogether. All eyes watched the erratic movement, unable and unwilling to remove their eyes from the sight of the small bloody chest, as it almost imperceptibly gained strength with each cycle of in and out. As time passed so slowly that it seemed to stand still, the movements of Harry's chest evened out and grew more regular as well as deeper and stronger.

Sirius stood up; unconsciously matching his own breathing to his son's as if he could subconsciously help the boy breathe better. He had held his breath until he could see the darkness around his vision swirling in but still he watched, tears of hope and joy running unnoticed down his cheeks.

It took several long minutes until Harry's breathing evened out enough for his cheeks to lose the purple and blue mottling and settle down to just pale pinkish. His lips and fingers were still tinged with blue when he opened his eyes and looked up, startling slightly to find Snape hovering over his chest and Glynnis kneeling by his head, both of them with sweat streaked and tear stained faces looking at him in stunned disbelief.

Harry raised a shaking hand towards his stepmother's face, before he detoured it toward his own forehead to swipe at the now freely bleeding scar that was dripping down into his eyes.

Poppy pushed Snape out of the way, oblivious to the fact that she had knocked the exhausted man arse over teakettle in her haste to reach her patient and begin casting diagnostic spells on the now very much alive child.

* * *

Kingsley had left the Burrow to go and inform the Ministry of what had happened while the children sat around in stunned shock at the loss of their friend. Tonks had taken Marybeth up to Ginny's room and forced a dreamless sleep potion down her throat before rejoining Arthur down in the sitting room with Minerva as they tried to make up a list of all the things they would need to do over the next couple of days.

"We will need to make some kind of a statement for the Daily Prophet, it would be much better to say something official than to have wild rumors and speculations running rampant." McGonagall was making notes on a small piece of parchment as they brainstormed.

"Are you sure, I know that Siri and Glynnis wouldn't want this to be a circus like the last time in the Muggle world was when his disgusting Muggle cousin pushed him down the stairs." Tonks questioned the older witch as Arthur nodded in agreement.

"Well, we don't have to announce where and when, just a small statement about what happened and that's all."

Molly paused on the landing, her head still fuzzy from the potion her beloved Arthur had forced on her. She pushed the fogginess away and took a resolute step down towards her family. No matter how distraught she felt about the loss of the boy, her family needed her and she wouldn't shirk her duty. She blanched as the implications of the conversation she had just overheard worked their way through her befuddled brain. 'Oh the poor dear and his family…' She sighed and then took a deep breath, her mind already multi-tasking everything they would need to do in the next few days and weeks. 'A roast and a ham for sandwiches, and perhaps even a turkey or two…I can get rolls and bread from the bakery…' She reached the last step and moved slowly and carefully into the sitting room to begin work.

* * *

Poppy leaned back on her heels and sighed heavily. "I don't know what you did exactly, or how it worked…but it did work. The potions have healed his internal injuries and he will make a full recovery." She held out a hand to Snape to help her up and then moved over to the old Headmaster, requesting a magical replenishment potion from Snape to feed to the exhausted mage. They could be heard muttering and working in the corner as Sirius could wait no longer and joined his wife on the other side of his son to sweep them both up into his arms, squeezing them as tightly as he dared, his tears of anguish and sorrow now unnoticed as a huge grin split his face from ear to ear.

Glynnis was murmuring soothing words to Harry as she cradled him against her chest, her arms still shaking in the aftermath of their awful ordeal. Sirius alternated between kissing Glynnis' blonde head and Harry's glistening black hair. Harry finally managed to get one hand on Glynnis' chest and one on Sirius' and pushed them apart and away from him. "Can anyone tell me what's going on … and stop this thing from bleeding all down in my eyes. It bloody hurts and my head aches and my chest is on fire…" His voice was little more than a croak but it got the attention of Poppy where she was standing beside the bed where Severus had levitated the now conscious but still tired Headmaster. She turned and beamed at the boy, her eyes suspiciously moist.

Snape took a couple of long strides over to his forgotten potions chest and picked it up gingerly, hoping nothing had broken when he dropped it. He slowly unlocked it and pulled up the top, folding down the front of it as it expanded, showing row upon row of brightly colored potions, each still, thankfully, intact.

"What do you need, Poppy?" He was thankful his voice was almost normal; surely no one noticed the slight crack or the tiny waver as he spoke, his emotions still unsteady as he forced the exhaustion of keeping the boy's heart beating away from his trembling limbs.

"His blood pressure and magical core appear to have stabilized already, but he could still do with a half dose of metabolism booster." She turned toward Harry and looked down with a shake of her head, "I'm sorry, Harry, but we don't dare give you any more potions or they will stop working right. But I can cast a mild sleeping spell that should help you go to sleep and you should feel much better by tomorrow." She raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

Harry nodded just barely enough for her to register, unwilling to move his head any more and exacerbate his pounding headache. As she cast a long string in Latin, Harry released his conscious mind into blissful slumber willing to wait until tomorrow to figure out why all the adults were acting so bonkers around him.

* * *

As Glynnis and Poppy moved Harry into a conjured bed in the master suite for the night, Remus was dispatched to the Burrow to find Minerva and let her know that Harry was not dead and that he was expected to recover fully in the next several days as well as to fetch Marybeth home to be with her now celebrating family.

Remus apperated to the empty back yard of the Burrow and made his way to the kitchen where he rapped sharply on the frame of the open back door. He glanced inside and saw the remains of a meal still on the table as well as chairs scooted haphazardly, a couple even lying on the floor as if they had been pushed back too rapidly by someone eating at the table. He could hear a soft susurrus coming from the seldom used front parlor and followed the soft sounds to find the entire group of Weasleys, plus Kingsley and Minerva.

"Ah good, I've found you. Glynnis and Snape were able to keep Harry alive using Muggle artificially resensatate or some such thing until the potions had enough time to work."

At their bewildered looks, Remus tried to explain. "Glynnis kept blowing air into his mouth to breathe for him and then she showed Severus how to push his chest in and out to make his heart beat or his blood flow, I was a little upset while she was explaining it to us."

No one had noticed as Tonks appeared behind the werewolf and leaned over his shoulder with a small almost stifled giggle. "I think you mean Artificial Resuscitation, Remus. It's a Muggle method of keeping someone alive until help can reach them. Someone breathes for them and someone else keeps their heart going so the brain gets enough oxygen to stay alive without brain damage. I know Glynnis is a nurse and so has extensive training in it."

"Yes, that's what she called it and it worked. Harry woke up and spoke a little before Poppy put him to sleep for the night. I need to fetch Marybeth home now." He was still a little giddy and emotional from the overwhelming happenings of the day and turned to go up the stairs to retrieve the girl before returning to Potter Manor once more.

"Wait, Remus…I already told the Ministry about Harry …dying…and all…what do you want me to do now?" Tonks grabbed his arm and turned him around to face her once more.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to tell them that you were wrong…Harry's very much alive and will be fine in a couple of days. Now I need to get Marybeth and return." He pulled his arm out of her hand and turned towards the stairs once more.

As he left, the room exploded in noise, the cacophony of sound making any particular person's words totally meaningless in the jumble of excitement and relief.

* * *

Tonks and Kingsley stood in front of Madame Bone's large mahogany desk, their shoulders slumped, heads down and hands clasped together in front of their waists, for all the world looking like prisoners waiting for their execution.

"Let me get this straight. Lady Black used some Muggle method to revive the boy after Poppy declared him dead. And he was dead, no pulse… no breathing? And then some screaming black oily cloud came out of his scar that had burst open all by itself…" As the two nodded she continued, "Dumbledore cast some kind of containment field to hold the mass together until it collapsed inward and exploded…" She steepled her hands together and then rubbed her chin with her clasped fingers as she thought for a moment. "I need to see someone's memories in a pensieve, but it sounds like the boy's scar was a horcrux doesn't it?"

As the two finished their reports, the implications of that statement filled all three with a mixture of horror and relief.

* * *

As Harry slept on a cot beside his parents' bed, Marybeth slept in the bed with whichever parent wasn't keeping vigil over the child. Neither Sirius nor Glynnis had been able to sleep much that night, only sheer exhaustion and the sure knowledge that both children would be wide awake and demanding on the morrow made either one of them even attempt to sleep at all.

And just as predicted, at six am, Harry stretched, reached up a hand to pull at the itchy gauze bandage wrapped tightly around his head and complained loud enough to wake all three of the other occupants of the room.

"Yecch...get this off, it itches and it feels cruddy." He whined loudly even before his eyes focused enough to know where he was. He blinked several times to get the excess goop out of his eyes and then frowned when he realized he was sleeping on a small cot beside his parents bed…and that his parents were in said bed watching him.

"Why am I here? What happened? Oh…" his voice trailed off as he remembered some of the events of the previous day. He looked up hopefully at his grinning father. "Did you catch the bloody rat?"

"Yeah we did…and watch your language, there are ladies present." If his grin was any bigger, Sirius' face would split in two.

Harry pretended to frown as he looked all around the room, "Where…I don't see any ladies here…" He squealed as his mother scooped him up and squeezed him in a tight hug while smothering his face in kisses.

He barely tolerated her attentions, but when Marybeth started kissing him from the other side he pushed them both away, "Uggh, get off." He fake shuddered with revulsion, "girl cooties!"

Neither woman cared as they continued to pat and prod him, making sure for them selves that he was all right.

* * *

After an eventful afternoon, where everyone who had been involved in the events of the previous day was invited over to celebrate both the recovery of Harry and the capture and subsequent imprisonment of Peter Pettigrew, the adults gathered to discuss the monumental events and implications of Harry's 'death' and his scar splitting open.

Albus still looked tired but the twinkle in his eye was enough to make several people wish for sunglasses to reduce the glare. "Well, the question of whether or not Harry's scar was a horcrux has been answered. Now we just have to find and destroy the rest of them. Any luck on finding the rest of them?"

Severus cleared his throat before coughing once and speaking. "I have been able to locate the diary that was confiscated from the Malfoy residence. I have it locked up in a secure facility in my quarters back at Hogwarts. I do not have the slightest inkling on how to destroy the monstrosity though, and after witnessing the part of the soul that was encased in Potter's scar I am thankful that I did not have the time to even try to destroy it. I fear it would have possessed me as the soul fragment tried to possess someone after the boy's 'death'. I suspect I would have been alone and unable to shield myself as the Headmaster did yesterday."

Albus reached over and patted one of Severus' hands. "We are all thankful that you did not attempt to destroy it. It took every bit of available magical power for me to contain that evil and I could not have held it much longer myself. And I had not exerted anything to destroy the receptacle. The 'death' of young Harry caused the connection to split asunder and destroyed the binding holding the soul fragment to the mortal plane, so all of my efforts were merely to contain it."

Amelia spoke up next. "I think that all of us who were not here should view the memories of those that were, so all of us know exactly what happened. I have heard about it, but it still boggles the mind and I don't think we will truly understand until we can see it and analyze it for ourselves."

As there were soft murmurs of agreement from the assembled groups, Sirius spoke up. Glynnis was sitting so close to her husband that she was almost on his lap and she buried her head into his shoulder with a shudder as she listened to him speak, nodding her acquiescence to his argument. "I don't mind giving up my memories…in fact I almost don't want them back…but I refuse to witness it again. It's just too painful and to close. I have almost lost my son twice now and I refuse to witness it ever again."

Severus spoke up with a thoughtful expression on his face. "When young Potter was so grievously injured by his cousin, why didn't the horcrux break then? I would suspect the circumstances were quite similar weren't they?" He raised one eyebrow almost to his hair line in question.

Glynnis managed to pick her head up from Sirius' shoulder and shook her head no. "He was under Muggle care almost immediately and was breathing on his own until the ambulance had arrived. When he stopped breathing, they immediately started artificial resuscitation and so he was never actually 'dead' like he was yesterday."

Severus scratched his chin with the fingers of one hand, making a rasping sound as his fingernails scrapped across his stubble of beard. "So if you had begun this resuscitation immediately, the horcrux would not have lost the connection because the boy would not be 'dead' and he would still hold the fragment of the Dark Lord's soul within him?"

He tilted his head as he puzzled out the consequences and came to a pleased conclusion. "Then…if we place containment shields all around the diary and destroy it with a destructive force…that should 'kill' it once and for all?"

Everyone turned to look at the pensive Headmaster as he worked through the implications and came up to his own conclusion. "We shall have to try that…in a secure location of course. But if we have several very strong people holding a shield while someone else conjures hellfire…or submerges the diary in acid … or blasts it with a lightning bolt…that just might work. Let us all think on it for the night and meet tomorrow in my office to discuss possible scenarios to destroy the diary and other locations for the other horcruxes. And of course, if those of you present yesterday would contribute your memories of the event, we could all analyze it from all possible angles and perhaps gain more insights into this darkest of magics and how to destroy them without endangering anyone."

* * *

The children were all left at the Burrow under Molly's very capable stewardship while all of the adults met for a very long day at Hogwarts. Since it was still summer, the castle was mostly empty and the house elves were delighted to have a larger group to feed and water throughout the day.

Sirius, Glynnis and Poppy were willing to deposit their memories into the Headmaster's pensieve but grateful they had been allowed to pass on actually viewing them with the group. Remus was distraught but resolute that his analytical mind would be helpful in solving the puzzle presented by the horcruxes so he forced himself to join the others in the pensieve, his shoulders squared and a determined glint in his eye as he forced his emotions down as deep as he could. If the aged Headmaster could force himself to enter the pensieved memories, than he could do it too.

The three not in the pensieve spent the almost hour and a half that the others were viewing the memories researching both magical and muggle ways to destroy the soul fragments safely. Of course, some of their ideas like Glynnis' suggestion of dropping it into a nuclear test facility weren't really practical, but they did lead to suggestions such as dropping it into an active volcano, submersing it in hydrochloric acid or basilisk venom that could be brought up to the whole group.

It was a somber and silent group that sat pale faced and white knuckled after returning from the memories contained within the Headmaster's pensieve. Even Kingsley had an unhealthy gray pallor to his black skin and Snape looked like a ten day old corpse or a vampire in the daylight by the time they all left the dreadful memories.

Amelia pulled out a thick roll of parchment and set it up with a recording quill before sitting down and speaking to the still silent group. "Well, where do we go from here?"

* * *

AN: Sorry about the delay in posting. This chapter was tremendously difficult for me to write as it kept bringing up memories of my own daughter. She was being kept alive long enough for the rest of the family to arrive and say goodbye to her before the doctors turned off the machines. She only managed a few agonized breaths on her own before passing away but it did bring up some of my own nightmares of that time. Thank you again for your support and the story should be taking a much happier turn shortly. 


	23. Chapter 23: The Beginning of Quirell

**Paddy's Little Pup** **By Teacherbev**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter One if you still believe I own any of the Potter Universe.** **AN: I am still plugging away at this and Nightmares and Daydreams but I do have a new story started called "A Father's Love" that might interest you. I only have one chapter posted but it is over 12,000 words long. I hope to start posting more regularly and frequently so keep up your encouragement. The reviews keep me typing.**

From Chapter 22: _It was a somber and silent group that sat pale faced and white knuckled after returning from the memories contained within the Headmaster's pensieve. Even Kingsley had an unhealthy gray pallor to his black skin and Snape looked like a ten day old corpse or a vampire in the daylight by the time they all left the dreadful memories._

_Amelia pulled out a thick roll of parchment and set it up with a recording quill before sitting down and speaking to the still silent group. "Well, where do we go from here?"_

Chapter 23: The Beginning of Quirrell's End

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk, his head leaning forward into his steepled fingers as he pondered the meaning of all that the group had learned over the past few weeks. He pursed his lips and then nodded several times to himself as he absentmindedly stroked his fingers through his long beard.

"Our fear that young Harry was indeed an unintended Horcrux was verified in a most horrendous fashion yesterday, but it has lead to the exorcism and destruction of one of those foul abominations, so at least some good has come from his kidnapping and subsequent ordeal. And Sirius and Minerva did indeed destroy and completely incinerate the large viper that was Voldemort's familiar. I do not believe that it had been mutated into a Horcrux since there was no exorcism of a Horcrux when it was destroyed, but it does remove that possibility from our equations." He looked around the group as if looking for comments on his analysis of the situation so far. When he saw nothing but vague nods of agreement, he continued.

"Remus and Sirius, have you been able to search the items salvaged from the destruction of Godric's Hollow any?"

Sirius shook his head negatively, but Remus gave a reluctant nod before speaking. "I was able to search a couple of the boxes from there and I did find several items that I'm sure Harry would like to have, but I'm still not sure exactly what I am looking for. Is it possible to cast a recognition spell or something over a box of items so that I can search quicker? I never realized that so much was salvaged; I had always assumed that the whole house was destroyed, but it seems as if everything but the living room and Harry's bedroom was packed up almost intact. I don't know what Sirius and Harry want done with all of that stuff, but the house elves managed 

to get it and store it so that it's still in fairly decent shape. I am also having some difficulty discerning exactly what was at the Godric's Hollow house and what was in the attics of the Manor to begin with. There are many historical and valuable items there as well as what is in the Heritage and Heirloom vaults at Gringott's."

"I should be able to help you separate out what was taken from Godric's Hollow from the Manor items, but you should ask the house elves for help. They could probably tell you what boxes were packed with items salvaged from Harry's room after that night. After all, I'm sure that Voldemort would have taken his Horcrux vessel into the room with him that night. I'm certain the Potter Manor elves were the ones to salvage everything and bring it all back to the Manor, since if the Ministry did the salvage they would have kept everything in some storage locker or auctioned it all off as some kind of tacky souvenirs of the 'Death of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named' or something equally tasteless and gauche."

Remus smacked his own forehead in recognition of the wisdom of Sirius' suggestions while he, Snape, and Dumbledore all cringed at recognizing the bald truth behind his criticism of the Ministry and Amelia rolled her eyes and nodded ever so slightly. "Of course, I never thought that it would have been the Manor's elves that went and boxed up that stuff. I'm sure the search will go much faster now. And they would recognize anything that didn't belong to James, Lily, or Harry I'm sure." When he finished, the others turned back to Dumbledore to continue.

"Severus, have you found out anything more about the missing items or how to destroy them?" Amelia was diligently writing down the items being discussed on her long parchment, so Snape waited a moment for her to catch up. "I have found several very dark tomes in the old Lestrange vault items that were confiscated by the Ministry. Thank you, Madame Bones for granting me access to them, they have been invaluable." He nodded respectfully towards the Head of Magical Law Enforcement once before espousing, "Basilisk venom will indeed destroy the items, as well as immersion in an active volcano, both of which were suggested at our first meeting. But it was also suggested that simply sending a Horcrux container through the Death Veil at the Department of Mysteries will also destroy any soul remnants without the difficulty of finding Basilisk venom or the danger of an active volcano. A simple levitation through the Veil will render them inert without the possibility of a soul fragment possessing another witch or wizard."

Several sighs of relief met this information and the group finally looked slightly hopeful for the first time since the morning after Harry's horrific vision.

* * *

_Boy Who Lived Nearly Dies – Again_

_By Rita Skeeter_

_This reporter has exposed a cover up at the Ministry of Magic involving our beloved Boy-Who-Lived once more. Readers will remember the tragic tale of the young Harry Potter who was almost murdered by his heartless and cruel Muggle relatives at the age of five. His cousin, _

_Douglas Durway, also age five, pushed him down a stone staircase at the Muggle school that they both attended. Investigations at that time uncovered a horrific tale of abuse, starvation, and neglect at the hands of his Aunt Perfuma, his Uncle Vulgus and his cousin. _

_Outraged wizards and witches wanted to know why our young Savior was ever placed amongst such uncaring beasts at that time and now, this latest attack on the poor child exposes the callous disregard for our Savior's health and well-being once more._

_This reporter wants to know why Harry Potter has been kept from the public for so long. Is he actually recovered completely from his heinous injuries or are Headmaster Dumbledore and Minister Fudge hiding overwhelming handicaps to our Savior? Why hasn't he been brought up as an integral part of the Wizarding Society that he so obviously belongs to? Who has kept him from his rightful heritage? Why has he not been raised with a proper family, one that could nurture him and train him to step into his rightful place in our society?_

_For story on Harry Potter's grievous injuries at the hands of his abusive family…see pg. 3_

_For story on his Uncle and Aunt's continuing incarceration in Muggle prison…see pg. 8_

_For list and bona fides of prominent families willing to adopt young Harry see pgs. 9-10_

* * *

Molly Wesley turned redder and redder the more she read the newly arrived copy of today's Daily Prophet before turning with a loud huff and throwing the whole thing into the fireplace, her hands on her hips and a look of extreme satisfaction as the smoldering Prophet curled in on itself and then fell apart in a flurry of dark ash and sparks.

"Uhh, something displease you in today's paper, dear?" Arthur asked somewhat hesitantly as he gave his wife a peck on the cheek before sitting down in his usual spot at the long wooden table, absentmindedly tightening his tie before reaching for the sugar bowl to doctor the steaming mug of fragrant tea sitting before him.

"Humph, I swear that Skeeter cow should be writing for the Quibbler about glow-nosed Fiddlewhumpers rather that about real news. She's going on again about how Harry belongs in a 'real wizard family' and how he should be out in the public eye."

Arthur blew across his cup of tea before patting the table beside him to invite his wife to sit beside him. "You mean pureblooded and politically powerful don't you." He chuckled softly at the rue of distaste that puckered up Molly's lips as she agreed with his assessment. He patted her hand before continuing. "Now, you know that Fudge and his people have been trying to use Harry to gain public support for their personal agenda and to cover up their own blunders for years. Sirius is way too politically astute and shrewd to allow that, not to mention he has the full support of both Albus Dumbledore and Amelia Bones on his side. Besides, once Harry steps out at King's Crossing on his way to Hogwarts on the first of September, I think quite a few people are going to be unpleasantly surprised at exactly how astute and well-educated young Harry really is. I know that both Sirius and Remus have been tutoring the lad in his responsibilities and 

the nuances of wizarding politics for years. He won't be some naive young Muggle raised child for them to manipulate."

Molly hugged him around the shoulders before planting a kiss right in the middle of his thinning red hair before turning to begin making breakfast for her large family. "I think Albus Dumbledore might be amongst those disappointed that young Harry is well tutored as well."

Arthur stood to grab his wife around the waist and nuzzled the back of her neck as she tended the sizzling bacon in the huge cast iron skillet. "You might be right dear, you might be right. Now, kiss me before the smell of bacon turns me into a wild animal."

Molly laughed heartily. "Mother always did say the way into a wizard's heart was through his stomach."

The couple reluctantly drew apart as the thunder of footsteps on the rickety spiral stairs announced the imminent arrival of their hungry brood.

* * *

Madam Pomfrey had forbidden Harry to even attempt anything magical for a week after 'the incident' as the family now euphemistically called his kidnapping by Wormtail and his near death experience after it. By the second day, Harry was ready to strangle Sirius and Glynnis, bury Uncle Remus in the back yard, and leave Mary Beth at the nearest train station with a one way ticket to…anywhere as long as he wasn't there. He might have appreciated the loving care that Sirius and Remus had given him when he was five years old and learning how to walk all over again, especially after a particularly distressing nightmare, but for heaven's sake, he knew he was perfectly fine and didn't need anyone hovering over him, and especially not four people hovering all over him.

Glynnis was always trying to check his pulse and breathing or touching his forehead to see if he had a fever, Mary Beth kept trying to convince him to sit down someplace quiet and talk or play quiet games, Sirius just kept watching him breathing like he expected him to stop at any moment…and wasn't that really creeping him out! Remus was a little more subtle, he just kept finding really interesting books for Harry to look at and read, but the house elves were the absolute worst as far as Harry was concerned. Not only did they try to put him back in bed every single time he got up, they kept popping into sight wherever he was with trays of food and glasses of iced juice. He had broken one little elf's heart when she popped into the bathroom with a plate of hot sticky buns when he was stepping out of the bathtub while completely starkers and he had screamed in surprise causing her to drop the platter into the now cold bath water.

By the fourth day, Harry had 'borrowed' his father's old invisibility cloak from the safe behind his father's old desk in the study and surreptitiously snuck up the old servant's staircase and into the furthest attic space he could find just to be alone, or at least as alone as he could be in a large manor house with four people and over twenty house elves in it.

He pushed open the door, hoping the squeak it made was too soft for anyone to notice and poked his head into the dark space. He whispered, "Light lamps." He knew that all of the gas lamps in the Manor were spelled to light at a voice command so that children could light up a room even before they had a wand. He looked around, satisfied that there would be enough boxes, and barrels of delightful 'stuff' here to keep him busy for days. Some of the crates looked like they had been recently opened and searched for something, but it didn't matter to Harry, it was all new stuff for him and he guessed it was probably the elves looking for something or just cleaning for the heck of it.

He had opened several crates, happy whoever had been searching lately hadn't really nailed the lids back down, almost as if they weren't done yet and would be returning soon to search some more. So far he had found lots of old clothes, boxes of ornate china and stemware, crates of books upon books, some of those he had put aside to read later, and tons of just 'gitch' as Glynnis called it. When he pulled the lid off of the next box, he drew in a deep breath, gasping as the dust in the old attic made him cough slightly and sank down to his knees, memories of his Dad, James and Mum, Lily flowing through him as if water over a burst dam.

This box was crammed full of baby toys, tiny little robes and sleepers and even some well chewed story books. Most of them had a dusty, smoky smell to them and some of them were actually singed but Harry didn't care. He pulled out an old crib mobile, remembering it being charmed to move so that the little Quidditch players flew after the tiny golden snitch and the bright red Quaffle. He could see it in his mind's eye, lying on his back, kicking his feet and reaching for the little men that flew just out of his reach. When he closed his eyes, ignoring the wet feeling on his cheeks, he could almost swear he could hear a soft feminine voice singing to him and the feeling of warm arms curled around him and holding him warm and safe.

* * *

"Have you found any more locations of the remaining Horcruxes, Severus?"

"Yes, the goblins allowed a search of the LeStrange vault since it will default back to the Black family when Bellatrix dies, and since her husband died last year and her brother-in-law was kissed by the Dementors in 1986, it will probably not be long, she is almost totally insane now as it is. I can get very little rational speech from her and only glimpses of fleeting sanity with Legillimency." Snape's face distorted with distaste as he remembered the experiences of the last few weeks visiting various inmates at Azkaban, "A note from Sirius was sufficient to allow me access to search. They had it prominently displayed on a pedestal as if it was some prized family heirloom." A wry smirk twisted his lips momentarily, "Though for that family, perhaps it was."

"And Sirius found the Slytherin locket hidden in his brother's old room and has brought it here to me for safekeeping. It turns out that Regulus was unable to destroy it and merely removed it and hid it from Voldemort so it will have to be destroyed as well. I have it locked up under the strongest warding I can cast, it had compulsion charms on it to force someone to wear it, and I could not chance some unsuspecting House Elf to be affected, though I hesitate to think what Voldemort would think were he to exit his Horcrux and find himself inhabiting a House Elf."

Severus couldn't help it, he choked on the sip of Earl Grey he had been drinking and glared at the old man. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"I'll never tell, my child." Albus' blue eyes twinkled madly for a moment before he once again continued the solemn conversation with his potions master.

"Any luck on finding clues about the diadem or whatever was taken to Godric's Hollow? I was able to access old records from Tom Riddle's days in the orphanage and found a listing for his mother's old residence. I would appreciate you accompanying me to search for the Gaunt ring, and perhaps we could prevail upon Kingsley and old Mad Eye to accompany us. I admit I am unwilling and somewhat frightened to attempt to extract the ring without overwhelming strength after the exhaustion of holding in Voldemort's soul fragment when young Harry was so gravely injured. I am afraid it would accidently break somehow and I would be left alone without help to overcome that evil." His shoulders slumped and he heaved a huge sigh in remembered exhaustion. "I admit I am beginning to feel my age more and more and it took almost a week to regain my magical core. I do appreciate the replenishment potions that you supplied me with too, my boy. I don't remember if I have thanked you for them, but I will do so now if I forgot and do it again if I did not."

"I have had no luck yet, but I have had little time to search the castle, perhaps the House Elves might be able to assist in the search, after all no one knows more about the hidden nooks and crannies of Hogwarts than the Elves that clean it."

"Stupendous idea, Severus, I shall take care of that right away. Milton!" Dumbledore clapped his hands together sharply and with a loud pop of displaced air, the oldest House Elf that Snape had ever seen appeared. The little creature was almost hunchbacked with age and his face had so many wrinkles he looked like an ancient and decrepit bulldog. His hands were sprinkled with age spots and his hair was thin and so white it was almost translucent. He nodded his head slowly, as if maintaining his balance while bending forward was a hefty chore, which Snape supposed it might be. He did look as if he might fall flat upon his face if he bent more than 30 degrees forward. But for all his fragility and great age, he was one of the most commanding House Elves that Snape had ever seen and his mere appearance caused a feeling of … awe somehow in the jaded potions' master's chest.

"How may Milton serve the Headmaster, sir?" Snape opened his eyes even wider in stunned surprise, this elf lacked the subservient and ingratiating manner of the House Elves that he was most familiar with and closely resembled the speech and mannerisms of a well trained and educated valet or butler.

"I am most sorry to bother you Milton, but we need to find a diadem or tiara that once belonged to the Lady Ravenclaw. Our information leads us to believe that Tom Riddle, the former Head Boy from Slytherin, who later became Lord Voldemort through various dark and evil rituals, found and used the diadem in a most heinous manner to ensure his continued survival." Dumbledore began to explain.

"Is Master Dumbledore speaking of a Horcrux, sir?" Despite the subservient language it was clear that Milton fully expected to be treated as an equal with the Headmaster, his very bearing and manner commanded that almost unconscious respect from anyone in his presence.

Now it was Dumbledore's turn to look gobsmacked at the elderly elf's question. "Yes, yes I am. I wasn't aware that House Elves have information about such dark rituals but that is exactly what we suspect he did to it."

"We elves have served both light and dark wizards for hundreds of years and we passed the knowledge down from elfling to elfling so that the knowledge of how to protect ourselves from such evil is not lost. Do you suspect that such an evil thing is now within the castle walls?"

Dumbledore just nodded, still too surprised to speak, his normal twinkle completely gone from his pale blue eyes.

"It poses a danger to the students that shall return shortly, and a danger to the continued existence of Hogwarts itself?" The old elf's face appeared sharply calculating and Snape had the uneasy feeling that, contrary to the belief of wizard kind, the house elf was more intelligent than anyone had given them credit for.

Dumbledore and Snape both said 'yes' together, and then nodded emphatically as well to emphasize their agreement in response.

"Then it is the duty of every Hogwarts House Elf to search and protect the students and the castle. We shall begin now, Master Dumbledore." The elf went to bow again before leaving but Dumbledore stopped him.

"Can you tell me what the House Elves know about how to destroy these abominations safely and completely, Milton?"

"If I am ordered to do so by the current Headmaster and at least four of the former Headmasters or Headmistress' portraits together; than I can release the information to the current Headmaster." Milton looked rather apologetic that he couldn't just tell Dumbledore but he clamped his mouth shut and just looked expectantly at the array of portraits on the walls.

A virtual plethora of permissions flooded down from the walls where the portraits had lost any pretence of sleeping and not paying attention to the current conversations. The sound echoed around the large circular office so Milton just nodded to himself and slumped cross legged down to the floor, resting his ancient bones as he began a tale from long ago.

"Fourteen hundred years or more ago, we elves were not House Elves but free lesser demons from another world. We were fierce and violent but our enemies, the greater demons, on our world kept our numbers small and under control. A dark wizard with more power than sense tried to summon two demons from our world. But he did not succeed and instead he summoned twenty of our kind; which he called elves as he had no idea what we were, the fool. My kind schemed and plotted and eventually overpowered his shields and wards. They killed him 

instantly and set about to spread across the land. Being both male and female, we soon grew in strength and numbered over two hundred and terrorized a large area of wilderness, killing goblin, wizard, man, and beasts for fun."

Dumbledore had placed a recording quill and a stack of parchment on his desk and was looking utterly fascinated at what they were hearing. Snape looked overwhelmed and completely shell shocked as no one had any idea of the origin of the House Elves, they had always just been part of wizarding society as far as he knew, their origins lost deep in the antiquity before recorded history and myths.

Milton took a deep breath and continued, "A band of powerful goblins contained us and cast a binding spell upon us that forced us to obey on pain of death. They bred us like dogs, removing the most violent from amongst us, as they used us for labor in their mines and living caverns. Our magic was bound to our master and if we disobeyed in the slightest way, even a mere thought of rebellion or disobedience, we would be struck dead in an instant. Over the centuries, the goblin nations eventually grew smaller and less violent also, and eventually knew not what to do with all of their bound lesser demons, so when they lost the next rebellion against wizard kind; they offered us up as part of their tribute, telling the wizards that we were a cross between goblins and wood elves. My ancestors went willingly for the chance to live in the sunshine and to have their magic unbound from the goblin's death service and willingly submitted to self punishment rather than death for disobedience."

Dumbledore looked fascinated but confused. "This is remarkable, but what does this have to do with Horcruxes?"

"We were now bound to wizards, both light and dark and we vowed to never again put ourselves into death bondage, and any dark wizard into blood rituals that make Horcruxes has the key to that binding and can invoke it once again at their will as the ritual to produce a Horcrux is closely related to the ritual to send us back to the greater demons of our home world. We will not allow that to happen. Milton will bring you the book of Imp Knowledge tomorrow for you to read the spell to send a Horcrux to our former world, but you must then allow Milton to remove the knowledge after it is done. We do not wish to return to living as prey to demons on our home world. We are happy to serve most wizards here, and wish only for laws to ensure unjust masters are not allowed to abuse our brothers and sisters in return for our help in banishing the darkness of these abominations."

After agreeing to willingly have the knowledge for the banishment removed after it was accomplished and working to better the treatment for all elves regardless of their masters, the two wizards said a rather distracted goodbye to the old elf and settled down to discussing how this remarkable and stunning new information would impact their battle against the resurrection of Voldemort.

* * *

Remus pushed open the partially opened door to the attic rooms and peeked inside. When he spotted Harry lying curled up around a well chewed and grubby stuffed black dog, he rushed 

forward and knelt down beside the sleeping child. He picked him up, taking care to bring the ratty plushy with him and softly left the attic once more, carrying his beloved 'nephew' back down the stairs, and putting him to bed in his own room once more.

After softly shutting the door behind him once more he turned to climb up the steep steps to the attic when a soft pop of a House Elf caused him to falter and almost stumble.

"Can Squeaks help Master Remy, sir?" The little elf was one that Remus remembered from his times staying with James while they were still students at Hogwarts so Remus sat down abruptly on the attic stair and looked straight into the elf's tennis ball sized eyes.

"Yes, I think you can, Squeaks. Did you help pack up the things from Godric's Hollow after James and Lily…" Remus' voice choked even after all of this time and he swallowed convulsively before continuing, "Anyway, the items from Little Harry's bedroom…was there some object there that you didn't recognize, something that the Dark Lord might have brought with him? It would probably reek of dark magic and blood ritual."

Squeaks was nodding its head rapidly up and down as it almost bounced on its pointed, long toed feet in excitement. "Oh, yes Master Remy, they is being such a thing. Black, black and dark it is being. We elves is knowing it does not belong with Master James and Miss Lily. We is not liking being in the room with such evil and is sealing it up and putting it down in the dungeons to keep the magic away from the family. Is Master Remy wanting it?" Squeaks looked rather skeptically at why a good wizard like Master Remy would want something so despicable and evil.

"I need to take it to Headmaster Dumbledore so that it can be destroyed, Squeaks. It is a way for the evil wizard that killed James and Lily to return someday to a new body. We need to destroy it before it can be used to bring his evil back."

As Remus followed the little being down the main staircase and through the back half of the Manor to the dark and steep stairs down into the disused dungeons, he felt a lightening of his heart that he had sorely missed all summer.

* * *

Mary Beth burst into Harry's room and jumped up onto the bed where her brother was sleeping curled up around a disreputable black stuffed dog and bounced, causing Harry to lift off of the mattress and scream as he found himself suddenly airborne instead of asleep.

"Wha...argh…Mary Beth!" Harry was reaching to tickle Mary Beth before he was fully back down on the mattress and she squealed and leaped away from him, snatching the dog he had held so tightly only moments before.

"Give that back, it's mine!" Harry grabbed, rushing around the big bed as Mary Beth giggled and ran the other way. Harry gave a little smirk and pulled his wand from the bedside table calling out, "ACCIO Padfoot!" Both he and Mary Beth faltered and stopped stunned when 

absolutely nothing happened. He scrunched up his forehead in concentration and carefully cast the spell once more. Again nothing happened.

Harry sent out a pulse of magic to scan the wand held in his hand. After his accident with Dudley he had almost been overwhelmed with the feel of magic all around him, especially when they traveled to places like Diagon Alley or Hogwarts or even to less magically charged places like the Burrow and his day school so he had long since learned to turn off his magic sensing ability with the meditation lessons that Sirius and Remus had taught him so long ago.

He looked pensively at the stick in his hand and huffed softly. "What's wrong, Harry?" Mary Beth came up beside him, looking at him closely and with deep concern.

"This feels like I'm holding Sirius or Remus' wands, not mine. It isn't mine anymore; it just feels really wrong to me now."

Mary Beth looked confused, she hadn't been in the magical world long enough to truly understand the deep bond between a wand that had chosen you and any other wand. "What do you mean; it's your wand isn't it?"

"It is my wand, but…it isn't any more. I know that doesn't make much sense to you, but we need to go talk to Dad and Uncle Remus right now." That Mary Beth could understand and the two took off through the large Manor, both yelling for their Dad at the top of their lungs.

* * *

AN: Thank you for your support and continued patience with the long delays in writing, while my hand slowly re-grows the nerves that I managed to sever last summer. I am now up to being a nine finger typist, but I have hopes to once again be a ten finger typist someday.


	24. Chapter 24: Harry's Wand

**Paddy's Little Pup** **By Teacherbev** **Disclaimer: See Chapter One if you still believe I own any of the Potter Universe.**

AN: Sorry for the long delay in updates, I hope to get back onto a regular schedule once more. Let us just say real life got in the way and between cataract surgery which went badly due to allergies, taking care of grandkids for the summer and a long visit in Washington State to see the other grandkids, I have been very busy. So I apologize once more and give you the next chapter. Now it's even longer and I have no excuse except I really didn't feel like writing anything for quite a while. Thank you for your continuing support and encouragement.

Chapter 24: Harry's Wand

Mary Beth and Harry had just finished yelling for their Dad when Harry noticed a strong pulling feeling coming from his desk over by the big bay window. He stopped in mid yell for his father and turned, his head cocked to one side as if he was listening to something that only he could hear. He took a stumbling step and then another, stronger one, not noticing that Mary Beth had stopped yelling and was now looking quizzically at her brother as he did an imitation of a Zombie monster from a bad muggle movie.

"Harry…what's wrong? Why are you acting like that?" She reached out to grab his arm but he was just beyond her reach and she had to take a quick step to keep from falling over. She almost caught herself but when she heard a startling noise behind her and instinctively twisted to see what it was, she lost the battle with gravity and wound up in a heap on the bedroom floor just as Sirius, Remus and Glynnis dashed into the room to find out what all the yelling had been about.

The three adults stopped suddenly just inside the door at the sight of Harry jerkily walking toward his desk, his forgotten wand, still gripped tightly in his right hand, was now pointing directly at the small drawer on the left side of his massive desk where he kept his small stash of treasures he had collected over the years. Mary Beth huffed in annoyance and then clambered to her feet, one hand absentmindedly rubbing her sore hip from where she had landed upon it so ignominiously just moments before. She was unused to being totally ignored when she was injured and was indignant at being ignored even if Harry was walking like some kind of Zombie from an old movie on the telly.

"Harry? What's going on?" Remus managed to find his voice first.

As if a spell had been broken, Sirius flicked his wrist, catching his wand as the spring loaded holster on his arm released it into his hand, ready for action. Sirius cast a protective shield spell around Harry but it seemed to have no effect as the boy took the final step and reached forward with his left hand to open the small drawer all in one fluid movement. Glynnis just looked puzzled, but both men started to run towards the still mesmerized boy, hoping they could reach him before whatever object or spell had the boy so entranced.

Harry's hand grasped something that no one else could see because of the angle of the open drawer and he pulled it out towards him as Remus and Sirius still moved forward to reach him, calling out to him to stop, but they were too late. Time seemed to stand still as Harry turned towards the others in his room, his wand in his right hand and the still unseen object in his left hand inexorably moving closer and closer together, until a bright flash lit the entire room, blinding everyone as a strong burst of magic blew everyone off of their feet and down to the carpet, stunned speechless and seeing spots.

00000000

Albus Dumbledore was sitting peacefully in his office, his mouth busy worrying a lemon sherbet, his stocking clad feet up on his desk and the latest Wizard's Monthly in his hands, one big toe idly playing with a small hole in the weave of the woolen sock. He turned the picture sideways to get a better look at the scantily clad Miss July when the peaceful early morning was disrupted by the wash of a powerful magical backlash through one side of his office and out the other. Every spinning whirring gadget in his office went crazy, shrieking as they moved faster than they ever had before for several interminably long seconds, before settling down once more to their normal background noises.

Albus had just leapt to his feet, his magazine forgotten as it fell under his massive oak desk, his feet scrabbling for his boots, his wand clenched tightly in his hand as he surveyed the room around him for some clue as to what had just happened, every nerve tensed as he prepared to fight whatever or whomever he found. His eyes forced impossibly wide without a single twinkle visible anywhere.

He had one boot on and was trying unsuccessfully to stuff his toes into the other one when the portraits announced that Minerva McGonagall was on her way up the spiral staircase closely followed by Professors Flitwick and Sprout. Another portrait breathlessly announced that Severus Snape was running like the hounds from hell were after him from the dungeons and was most likely on his way to the Headmaster's Office as well. He absentmindedly called out for the three Professors to enter as he continued to scrutinize his plethora of swirling gadgets for exactly where that pulse of magic had come from…and any clue as to what it had actually been as well.

"Albus, what was that…that pulse that I felt. I haven't felt anything like that since the wards reacted to the banishment of Voldemort all those years ago." Minerva's brogue was clearly audible in her haste to find some answers.

"Come in, come in and everyone please sit down. We're just waiting for Severus to arrive and then we can discuss what I think just happened." Albus sat down heavily in his ornate desk chair, his long wand still clenched convulsively in his gnarled fingers so tightly that his knuckles were turning white from the tension. Without conscious thought he finally managed to stuff his foot into his boot, the tongue folded down uncomfortably over the top of his foot, but totally unnoticed by the flustered warlock.

The sound of Snape running up the moving staircase thundered and echoed up the stone chamber announcing his arrival before he dashed into the room, breathless and panting from his mad race up from the depths of the dungeon, his wand held at the ready as his black eyes, glittering and dangerous, quickly flashed around the office, assessing the threat of everyone and anything contained therein. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Snape took several very deep, calming breaths before plopping down heavily into the sole remaining unoccupied chair situated before the massive desk.

No one broke the silence for what seemed an eternity, until with a last shuddering breath, Snape demanded, "Just what in the bloody hell was that, Albus?"

Albus leaned forward over his desk; elbows splayed as he steepled his hands and rested his chin in his fingers, as if his head was suddenly much too heavy for him to hold up. "Honestly, Severus? I just don't know. But I assume we are not the only ones to have felt that." He looked expectantly towards his massive marble fireplace which was flashing green with a storm of incoming messages.

Amelia Bones had managed to be the first to shove her head into the Headmaster's fireplace, "ALBUS! Are you there? By Merlin's dirty knickers, what the bloody hell have you lot been doing? Did you destroy a Horcrux without informing us?"

"Now, now Amelia…" Dumbledore placated the clearly irate witch, his gnarled hands making a placating motion in time with his words, "We have no clue about what has taken place either. And I am open to suggestions about just what that pulse of magic was so if you would let me take some more floo calls perhaps someone might be calling with the information we all so desperately seek."

Amelia wasn't satisfied so she just stepped through to the Headmaster's office, figuring that he would get information from his multitude of sources even faster than the Ministry of Magic would.

Cornelius Fudge followed so closely behind her that he almost stumbled over her as she stood for a moment gathering her wits together before she moved from in front of the fireplace. In less than five minutes, there was barely room for anyone to move in the normally massive office as every spare inch was covered in a plethora of conjured chairs of every size and shape, from tiny little Professor Flitwick's tall stool to a massive love seat completely filled by Hagrid. The noise from everyone demanding answers and postulating their own theories as to what that magic pulse might have been had the portraits fleeing in self defense and Fawkes cowering on his perch, his head tucked under one wing as he hid a knowing smirk.

The last arrival, the goblin leader Ragnok, had barely sat down upon something that resembled an upholstered rock more than anything else, was followed by an almost unnoticed last arrival by Sirius Black with his son, a soundly sleeping Harry clutched tightly to his shoulder, a look of panic on his unnaturally white face. He was followed almost immediately by an equally white faced Remus Lupin with Glynnis clutching for dear life to his left side and Mary Beth glued to his left hip, her arms tightly clenched around his narrow waist.

Dumbledore drew himself up to his full height and faced the mad cacophony that threatened to shake his office apart from the sound waves alone, and yelled, "Silence!" Proving once more the authority and near reverence that all of the assembled beings held the aged Headmaster in, the office stilled almost instantly, the previous noise still ringing in their ears as everyone looked madly about, finally recognizing exactly who and how many different beings were crammed into the office together.

"Thank you. Now does anyone have any answers about that pulse…or are you all here to ask questions?" The headmaster spoke in his normal calming tones, though his usual twinkle was glaringly absent from his clear blue eyes, a very unusual wrinkle of worry furrowing his ancient brow.

Sirius shifted Harry on his shoulder so that he could run a trembling hand down the back of his exhausted and still sleeping son, and took a single step forward. "Ah, that would be Harry here…he uh well…" his voice stumbled and he went silent as he didn't know exactly how to explain what had happened. He looked at Mary Beth, the silent plea for her to begin the story plain in his unusually solemn grey eyes, his face showing equal parts of panic and uncertainty.

"Oh, well, ummm, you see…Harry and I were playing, you know, in his bedroom…and he sort of grabbed his wand…I had taken his stuffed dog you see…" she hesitated, unsure about speaking up with all of the eyes watching her. She shrank into her mother's side, suddenly shy with everyone watching her.

"It's okay, dear...go ahead, and explain. No one's going to yell at you." Glynnis turned and glared at each being present, making several of them make an internal comparison between the human mother standing before them and a mother bear protecting her cub. "Are they?" Several nods met her statement and she patted Mary Beth's shoulder to encourage her to continue.

Mary Beth sucked her lower lip in between her teeth making an annoying hissing sound before she continued. "Well, Harry grabbed his wand to make me give back his stuffed dog and when he accio—d it, well, nothing happened. He said it felt like it wasn't his wand anymore and then he yelled for Dad and then he just started walking to his desk, only it wasn't really walking, kinda like a zombie, you know in those old black and white movies on the telly…." Her voice faltered and died as she was met with confused and blank stares from her audience.

Sirius stepped up beside his wife and daughter, putting his free arm around Mary Beth's shoulders as he pulled her protectively closer to him. She turned enough to bury her face in his comforting robes and visibly shuddered. Sirius cleared his throat and took up the story. "I arrived to see Harry being drawn to something in his desk drawer, only he was jerking as if he wasn't in control at all. And then his top drawer began glowing, a gold so bright it hurt your eyes. He opened the drawer and took something out in his left hand. He turned around but I couldn't tell what it was since it was still glowing bright enough that you couldn't look directly at it. He touched it to his wand that was in his right hand and then there was that bright white pulse…it knocked us all down, well, except for Harry who just stood there frozen. When the light faded and we could see a little, he was crumpled on the floor, passed out cold. I picked him up and brought him here and he hasn't woken up yet. Whatever it was I don't know because somehow it disappeared, either in the flash or into his wand and Harry still seems to be unconscious, he hasn't woken up since then." He looked down worriedly at the small face still lying peacefully on his shoulder, his concern plain to see.

Madame Pomfrey stood up and pushed forward from where she had been sitting, shoved to the back of the mad throng and ran her wand up and down the small body, humming and hawing as she went. "Hmm, well that's unexpected…what….never seen anything like that before…what in blue blazes is going on here?" It didn't seem as if she either liked or understood what her diagnostic spells were telling her.

The entire congregation held its breath, waiting for the mediwitch to finish her diagnostics and answer the myriad of burning questions. Finally he could stand the muttering no longer and the impatient Headmaster asked the question everyone wanted to know. "Well, Madame Pomfrey, what have you found?" Albus leaned forward, his gaze intent and unblinking as he waited for her to answer, unconsciously mimicking everyone else who was holding their breath in anticipation.

"I don't really know Albus, that's what is so puzzling. He shows signs of massive magical overload, but it isn't really affecting his core the way I would expect it too. He seems a little tired but nothing like what he should be. It's almost as if the magic that caused the overload came from outside him, not something he caused by an expenditure of magic." As she had completed her scans, Harry had shifted slightly and was now softly snoring on his father's shoulder, his wand still gripped tightly in his right fist. Albus pulled his wand and waved it around his head in a complicated motion, causing the room to expand in all directions. Minerva grabbed the arms of her chair while Hagrid snatched Flitwick before he could fall off his high stool as the furniture jerked and moved like beds on the Night Bus as the chairs separated and spaced themselves around the now expanded space. Another complicated flick and a long couch appeared for the Blacks and Lupin to sit down on. Sirius sat down carefully, Harry still clutched tightly to his chest, Glynnis on his left, Remus on his right and Mary Beth on her mother's lap.

"Ah, that looks more comfortable. I am sure that we are all quite curious about what has happened to young Harry's wand. Minerva, if you can make your way to the floo, would you request that Mr. Ollivander join us?" She nodded and wormed her way around and through the mass of mismatched furniture and her head disappeared into the floo.

Cornelius huffed and puffed his chest out importantly. "I insist that Mr. Potter be examined by the Unspeakables to find out exactly what has happened." His face turned florid with his self importance.

Minerva stood up and faced the group once more. "I have given your request to Mr. Ollivander and he will be here shortly. He has to take care of one customer and then close up his shop, Albus. He said he might have some idea of what has happened but he wasn't sure without running some tests first."

"See Cornelius, we might have an explanation shortly. In the meantime, might I suggest that I share with everyone some rather interesting facts that Severus and I have recently uncovered whilst we are awaiting Mr. Ollivander's arrival?" Albus was once more in command and it showed.

Various nods and murmurs of agreement from the large group met his suggestion and so he turned around and summoned a large roll of parchment from one of his bookcases. Settling his half moon spectacles on his nose he looked down his long crooked nose and began to summarize the history that he had been given by the Chief House Elf, Milton, just the day before.

"It seems that what we call House Elves are actually lesser demons that were mistakenly summoned by an inept wizard over four centuries ago. Whilst trying to summon two greater demons he inadvertently summoned over twenty lesser demons that quickly overpowered and killed him. Since they had no natural foes here, they quickly flourished and spread before eventually being contained and conquered by the goblins. The goblins used them in the mines and in their wars for generations in death bondage. But as the goblins became more successful in mining techniques and less warlike amongst themselves, they had less and less use for the 'elves' as they named them. Eventually they were given in tribute to wizards after the goblins lost a revolution and the elves willingly went for the chance for a more merciful bondage and for living above ground once more. All of this was lost through the centuries but Milton was able to relate this history to Severus and I as it was relevant to our search for a manner in which to destroy the thrice dammed Horcruxes."

Everyone leaned forward as the seemingly unrelated but never the less interesting history was now very relevant to their current crisis. Albus conjured a glass of water and took a small sip, refreshing his throat. He leaned forward and continued, "He related a way to safely destroy the Horcruxes to Severus and I but we are unable to share that method with anyone and have sworn an oath of secrecy and even agreed to be bloviated after the last one is destroyed. And yes, it is necessary though we are unable to share the reasoning with you. This is one area that you will have to just trust us on as it could mean the destruction of the entire planet if the information got into the wrong hands." He glared and met each and every pair of eyes until he got a nod of agreement from everyone, though Cornelius looked mutinous at the thought of the information not being available to his precious Ministry for study.

Amelia leaned over and put a restraining hand onto the Minister's arm. "Let it go, Cornelius. I am sure the reasoning behind this stricture is sound. We really don't need to know everything about the destruction; just that they can be safely and securely destroyed is all we need to know."

Cornelius huffed again, but settled down, just twisting his obnoxious lime green bowler hat around and around in his agitation. His face finally returned to his usual pasty complexion as his blood pressure calmed once more.

Albus finished his explanation just as Ollivander stepped sprightly through the floo and stood up, brushing a speck of non-existent dust off of his impeccable dove grey robes. He carried a well worn leather satchel in his hands and wore a look of anticipation and intense curiosity upon his ancient visage.

"Well, well, wasn't expecting to find such a large group here. But no doubt there is a reason for everyone here. Now, where is Mr. Potter, and his remarkable wand?" He looked around, his odd silver moon like eyes unblinking as he searched for his prey. He stepped spryly around and through the maze like passageway around the packed office and came to rest, perched like some odd bird on the arm of the sofa next to the still sleeping Harry's head. He reached down and tried to remove the wand from Harry's right hand. Harry grumbled and pulled the wand back against his chest, growling softly in his sleep at being disturbed. Mr. Ollivander looked at Sirius and raised an elegant pure white eyebrow in silent question.

"Uh, he hasn't let go of it since it, whatever it was, happened." Sirius offered helpfully.

Ollivander's eyebrow lowered and both gathered together as he wrinkled his forehead in consternation. With a deep sigh of resignation and a look of regret he pulled out his wand and muttered a soft spell at the boy who woke up, blinking owlishly as he looked around at the massive amount of people staring at him. He turned and buried his head into his father's familiar robes, muttering to himself so softly that no one else, not even Sirius could understand, which was probably a good thing considering the tone of his voice was both annoyed and unflattering sounding.

"Now, now Mr. Potter. I am truly sorry to bother you but we need to examine your wand and ask you a few questions about what just happened from your perspective. I am certain that you will be allowed to continue your nap uninterrupted after that if you still so desire." Albus soothed the flustered boy as he nodded at Mr. Ollivander to continue.

Sirius patted Harry's back soothingly with one hand while he gently pulled Harry's wand out of his right hand with his other. Harry made no more protest and simply slumped further into his father's embrace, his bones going boneless as only a child can.

Mr. Ollivander continued to sit on the arm of the sofa, the wand twirling in his hand as he contemplated the group now staring at him with intense concentration. He took a deep breath and began to tell the story of the wand to the assembled group, knowing that only Harry, Sirius, and Remus had heard the tale before, when Harry had first been chosen by the ancient and remarkable wand.

He began his story, his voice soft and cracked with age but gaining in strength as he continued, his audience mesmerized with his storytelling. "After the founding of Hogwarts, the school grew and prospered for many long and happy years, until a disagreement between two of the Founder's over the admittance of Muggle born students grew more and more heated and finally exploded into arguments and then physical fights. It seems that Slytherin wanted muggle born students to be quarantined and educated separately for their first three years and to be obliviated of any memory of the non-magical world and their families. They would be intensely educated in the etiquette and history of the wizarding world and their subservient place within it before being allowed to enroll at Hogwarts for their fourth year and the others considered that to be too harsh and simply wanted a vow from each new student that they would never tell anyone about the magical world. You have to remember that this was the Dark Ages and witch burnings and hangings were common. The disagreements and demands on each side escalated until one Founder, Salazar Slytherin was defeated soundly by Godric Gryffindor and the three remaining Founders banished him evermore and forever from the castle. The wards were reinforced and set against him and any of his descendants that wished harm upon the school or its inhabitants.

No one knows what triggered the original disagreement or why it eventually came to blows and then swords, but the ending had been foretold by Rowena Ravenclaw, a talented and accurate seer. When Salazar was banished, he vowed to return and turn the castle he had once called home to rubble and dust; and swore upon his life and his magic that he, or someone of his line, would have complete and absolute revenge upon the three remaining Founders and all of their descendants.

As the three were gathering up the belongings that Salazar had been forced to leave, Rowena happened to pick up a small vial of some unknown liquid. She went into a trance and spoke thusly." His eyes glazed over as he focused on remembering the exact wording of the prophecy from so long ago.

"_A hundred generations will pass as the darkness spreads_

_Blight upon the land, the light will dim but not die._

_Until the innocent child, the champion is born_

_To push back the darkness and bring light to fair Scotland again._

_A babe in his mother's arms he will die_

_To be reborn as the Dark Lord is vanquished_

_Into a shade whose spirit will flee._

_A decade of years it will wander in darkness most vile_

_Using darkest arts to survive._

_The champion of light will meet the shade twice_

_Each time more horrific, the suffering and pain growing_

_Until his blood taken in ritual most vile and the Dark Lord will be reborn_

_To gather his forces and spread the dark blight over the land once more._

_Twice will they battle, the outcome uncertain, the third will end it._

_Until with power the Dark Lord knows not,_

_The power of love and justice and peace, the Champion will prevail._

_The reign of justice will once more be balanced_

_The light will prevail and darkness be vanquished to usher in_

_The millennia of peace and freedom._

Ollivander stopped to conjure a sparkling glass of water, which he thirstily gulped before beginning his tale once more, the condensation of the chilled water dripping unnoticed down his hand. "When Godric and Helga heard the prophecy that Rowena had told, they gathered together all of their tremendous intellect, all of the books that they could find and spent their remaining years studying and deciphering the prophecy.

Godric met Salazar one final time and found to his great distress that Salazar was no longer sane and in his paranoia did not even recognize the man who had once thought of him as a brother. Godric was able to defeat his former friend and with great sadness and sorrow; he killed him with his sword and burnt his body and scattered the ashes so he could not be brought back. The rest of his followers were quickly hunted down and imprisoned or killed, and the remaining Founders retired from teaching to devote their full time to deciphering the prophecy and finding ways to help the Champion of Peace in his battle.

The task was given to my great, great, many times great grandfather to hold this wand that the three Founders crafted for the Champion foretold. He was told that the wand would somehow find the champion, and would bond as no other wand has ever bonded before. That wizard, who is destined to defeat the spawn of Salazar once and for all, is the only one who can safely wield this wand which is filled with a token from each of the three Founder's own animagus form; a claw from Gryffindors griffin, a crest feather from Rowena's eagle, and a tail hair from Helga's badger. The fourth substance is unknown and comes from the vial of liquid that Rowena was holding when she gave the prophecy. There is some speculation that it is the poison of a basilisk, but no one knows for certain.

There is a suite of rooms here at Hogwarts that the three made and then hid for their Champion. It supposedly contains all of their private libraries and other materials that they felt the child would need to accomplish his monumental and daunting task. The holder of this wand is the only one who will be able to find the rooms and reawaken the power of Hogwarts to help him with his task." As he finished, his voice dyed out leaving the room in stunned silence, the sound of all the gathered beings breathing the only disruption to the silence.

Harry finally looked up at Sirius and then over to Remus before looking out across the group, his shoulders slightly slumping as he shrank back from all of the older wizards and witches that were studying him so intently. He felt very uncomfortable with all of their scrutiny and tried to make himself smaller on his father's lap. He looked up at Mr. Ollivander and hesitantly offered. "My wand felt really weird, like it wasn't mine and then I could …feel… the feather that Fawkes gave to me in my desk and then somehow I was at my desk and I…I don't know…I just had to…well, I touched the feather to my wand and it somehow…just disappeared into it. And now my wand feels just right again. It's mine and again and all," he screwed up his face as he thought about how to but the things he was feeling from his wand into words, "Happy sort of…well, as happy as a wand can feel, I guess." He shrugged his shoulders and cuddled down once more, content to let the adults figure out everything else.

AN: I apologize profusely for the long delay. If you are interested in why I have posted a note on my author page, if you are not interested, just enjoy the chapter. And thank you for all of the support during my long absences.


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